Band-Aids and Coconut Cake
by LemonStar
Summary: ..Daryl/Beth.. AU - no zombies. After a breakup with his girlfriend, Daryl Dixon is left with nothing except a broken heart and their once-shared chocolate Lab, Louis. Swearing off women for the rest of his life, Daryl is more than ready to be alone forever. But Louis has other ideas when he has a run-in with a porcupine and has to go see the new vet in town, Dr. Beth Greene.
1. Breaking Up is Hard To Do

**I'm trying a few new things in regards to this new story that I haven't tried before. I hope you like it! As with most of my other stories, this will alternate between Daryl and Beth. Beth's POV will be the next chapter.  
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…

 **Chapter One.**

He makes Merle stay outside by the truck because if he comes into the house with him, Merle will just start some shit and Daryl's just not in the mood for that today. Or any day. Not since this whole thing imploded and sitting at the bar earlier with Merle, listening to his older brother rise swiftly to his defense, it makes Daryl feel good but at the same time, he knows Merle and Merle rising to his defense means that he'll probably get arrested. Especially since Daryl knows Amy has never liked Merle and will have no issue calling the cops on him if he so much as looks cross-eyed at her.

So, having Merle stay outside really is the best thing for everyone.

Right there in the living room, Amy already has his things packed away in boxes and Daryl knows that's only because he's noticed Randall's things are already moved in. It makes him wonder how long she's been sneaking around behind his back. He wonders how long he's been thinking about marrying this girl while she's stepping out with Randall.

Thank fuck he never did actually get around to asking her to marry him.

"This it?" He asks after it takes two trips back and forth to the truck, handing things to Merle for Merle to toss them carelessly into the back bed.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Amy asks and Daryl just stares at her because that's what Amy does. She asks questions she really doesn't expect anyone to actually answer. She sighs as if she's reaching the end of her endless patience for this entire situation and then holds a blue nylon leash out towards him.

Daryl blinks at it for a moment. "I bought 'im as a present for you," he says with a frown.

Amy pauses for a moment and he tries to read her face before giving up; wondering if he had ever been able to read it or if he had just convinced himself that he knew this girl.

After another moment, Amy shakes her head. "No, you should take him. Randall's allergic."

Less than five minutes later, Daryl's pulling away from the house, Merle across the bench seat and his hand on the head of the two-year-old chocolate Labrador, Louis, who sits between them with his tongue hanging out, excited for whatever is coming his way.

At least one of them is excited, Daryl thinks to himself as he heads down the street.

…

Paulette Dixon is in her mid-sixties and had been working at the diner for the past thirty or so years, where everyone calls her Paulie and people know that if they want ginger root or freshly grown mint, they go see her. Her backyard has a tiny greenhouse that Daryl had built for her years earlier – his first job that has kind of served as a calling card for everything else he does and can do – where she is able to grow all sorts of natural remedies to sell to the people in their small town.

She met Will Dixon when she was hardly a teenager and by fourteen, she was pregnant. She gave birth to her oldest son, Merle, when she was fifteen and for some reason, a reason her sons never understood, she and Will got married when she sixteen. She was twenty-five when she gave birth to Daryl and all of the time before that and for years after, Will liked to use his wife and two sons as his own personal punching bags.

The best thing that ever happened to any of them was when Will took off with some bar floozy for Reno and two months later, a detective came knocking, telling them that Will's body was found in the desert somewhere.

After that, Paulie tried to find work. She never graduated from high school and she didn't have that many skills but she had two boys she had to take care of. Merle brought home money but Paulie hardly ever accepted it, knowing for the most part where it came from. She wandered into the diner one day and spoke with the owner and she had no experience but she would learn, damn it. She had been serving three males their food for years now and this couldn't be much different than that.

Merle enters the diner first, followed by Daryl and he's got Louis with him, the dog trotting in at his side and sniffing at the black and white checkered linoleum floor. Dogs aren't allowed in here but Daryl knows Louis is the exception. The owner, Dale, has a little crush on Paulie and usually lets things slide with her and her own that he wouldn't put up with from others. Daryl's not trying to take advantage of the man. He just doesn't want to leave Louis alone in the truck and knows Dale won't tell him to get this dog out of here. He's not sure how long he and Merle will be here.

Paulie's behind the counter, refilling a man's cup of coffee, and she looks up when they enter, the little bell hanging above the door letting out a light tingle to announce their arrival. And when Paulie lifts her head and sees them, she instantly bursts into a smile but then she sees Daryl's face and Louis trotting at his side and her own smile fades.

"I didn' know you were gonna be doin' that today," she says, still holding the pot as she goes to where Merle and Daryl settle themselves on a couple of stools at the end of the counter.

Daryl shrugged. "Jus' wanted it done," he mumbles as he takes one of the laminated menus from between the kitchen and mustard bottles even though he knows by heart what the diner has to offer and the last thing he wants to do right now is eat.

He just has no idea what else to do at the moment.

He just has no idea what the hell has happened. He and Amy were together for two years. Two _years_. This wasn't just some hookup at some bar that didn't mean anything. They were living together. Daryl was pretty sure he was going to have a life with this girl. He wanted to anyway. When she told him that she had been cheating on him, she might as well have smacked him in the face with a frying pan. It wouldn't have shocked him more than that. Because not only was she cheating on him, she was cheating on him with _Randall_ , the shitty drummer of the shitty band that played at their usual bar every Saturday night; a shitty band who thought they would get some record contract any day now even though Daryl has heard bats screeching in the woods sound better than Death by Destruction.

Amy had cheated on him with the drummer for a band who call themselves Death By Destruction. He doesn't know what is worse. The fact that he loved this girl and she had cheated on him or that she had cheated on him with _that_.

"You're so damn quiet, Daryl!" Amy had shouted at him on the night when she had told him and he had stood there, still reeling from the bombshell; still in shock. "Randall _talks_ to me! _And_ he listens to me, too!"

That had snapped him out of it. He frowned at her. "I listen to you," he all but growled.

"Then why didn't you hear how unhappy I've been lately?" She fired back and Daryl had no response for that one because no, he _hadn't_ known.

He hadn't known she had been unhappy being with him. How long had that been going on? And if he hadn't heard it, he would have seen it. He had been hunting and tracking since he was just a little kid and few things were able to escape his attention. That was the truth but why the fuck couldn't he have seen something off about Amy's behavior? Not that she was unhappy. He didn't really believe that and was pretty sure she was just using it as an excuse. But about her behavior towards Randall. Amy wouldn't have been able to hide that from him. She's shit at keeping secrets. So how was she able to blindside him with this?

"Here, sweetie."

He looks to see his mom set a bowl of soup down in front of him. Cream of celery from the looks of it. His favorite. And the diner's soup of the day – every day.

But his stomach churns at the sight of it and without a word, he pushes it towards Merle, who is more than happy to take it off his hands and who is already reaching for the spoon.

"m' gonna go for a walk," he says, standing up from his stool, his hands still holding onto Louis' leash, starting to shake a little. He really needs a smoke. Or a drink. Or maybe he needs to go down to that bar and punch someone in the face. Randall wouldn't stand a chance against him but no, he won't do that. Punching people had always been more of Merle's thing than his. Maybe he could send Merle…

"Daryl…" Paulie starts to say after him but Daryl doesn't stop as he heads out of the diner, pushing the door open with more force than necessary, Louis trotting after him.

…

In the middle of the small town, there's a park called The Commons - for some reason - that's plopped down between two streets that run parallel to one another, and that's where Daryl and Louis walk once they leave the diner.

It's a nice warm spring day and the park is crowded with kids at the playground, people walking or riding their bikes along the path, and there's a game of basketball going on involving a group of high-school boys, girls of the same age sitting in the grass watching them, giggling behind their hands and whispering to one another.

Louis leads Daryl to the fountain in the middle of the park and immediately stands up on his hind legs, his front paws on the concrete edge as he always does, watching the goldfish who live in the fountain water lazily swim about. At the center of the fountain, there's a statue of Stonewall Jackson, which has been protested against plenty of times by people to try and get it removed but the curmudgeonly old people who run the town, Dixie pride still running deep in their blood, refuse to take the statue down so there it remains standing.

Daryl plops down on the edge next to the dog and releases a heavy sigh. He wants a cigarette and feels the familiar pack always present in his back jeans pocket but smoking isn't allowed in The Commons and he doesn't feel like bringing attention to himself. Small town and all of that. Everyone probably already knows about him and Amy and the last thing he wants is someone coming up to him, wanting to talk and try to offer him comfort.

Louis turns his head and looks at Daryl with his tongue panting from his mouth, looking like he's giving Daryl a smile, and Daryl almost feels his lips twitching in his own smile before he's able to stop himself. He just reaches a hand out and rubs it behind one of Louis' ears and the dog moves closer to him, plopping himself down in front of Daryl at his feet, facing him.

"So, this is it, huh?" Daryl asks the dog. "You and me."

Louis just keeps panting and smiling and when Daryl tries to move his hands away, Louis nudges his knee with his snout, demanding more. And Daryl's hands return to behind his ears, rubbing and looking at the young dog that had been bought on a whim from Hershel Greene, the veterinarian who lived on a farm just outside of town and who was the vet to just about every animal in the area. He was always rescuing animals; strays and animals that had been by their families on the side of the road or at rest stops.

Louis had been found at a rest stop on the interstate by Hershel's youngest daughter, who was going to college in Atlanta and coming back to town for a visit. Hershel had gotten the chocolate lab puppy back to perfect health and when Daryl had been over at the farm one afternoon, patching a section of the roof on the old Greene house that had been standing since the turn of the century, Hershel asked him if he ever thought about getting a dog. Chocolate labs were good hunting dogs.

And Daryl looked at the puppy and remembered that Amy had a love for dogs and had talked before about getting one because despite what she later claimed, he _listened_.

When Hershel had passed away three months earlier, the entire town had showed up for the funeral, the church not able to hold everyone and people had spilled outside.

Someone suddenly sits down next to him and Daryl suppresses a sigh. _Here we go_ , he thinks to himself before turning his head, seeing that it's Rick Grimes, dressed in jeans and a tee-shirt and a stroller in front of him, baby Judy Grimes wearing a floppy pink hat to protect her head from the sun. It's obviously Rick's day off.

"Need a place to crash for a while?" Rick asks. "And before you say no, just know that Lori's already cleaning out the spare room for you."

Daryl allows himself to smirk at that and he goes back to looking at Louis, still rubbing behind his ears. "Nah," he shakes his head. "'m gonna be stayin' with my ma for a while until I can find my own place. But tell Lori I said thanks," he then adds.

"If it makes you feel any better-" Rick continues. "-most of the people are taking your side."

That gets Daryl looking at him again with a frown. "Didn' 'member askin' anyone to take sides 'cause it's none of their damn business."

Rick just shrugs and knows he's thinking the same thing Daryl already knows. Small town.

"Merle says it's 'cause she's younger than me," Daryl said. "Not tryin' to make excuses for her. Merle just thinks maybe she needs to sow more wil' oats or somethin' like that."

"She's not _that_ much younger," Rick points out and Daryl almost hates how it has always seemed to him that he and Rick share a brain a lot of the time. Sometimes – most of the time – he feels like Rick Grimes – his best friend who's as close to him as another brother – understands him more than his actual brother.

Daryl shrugs and doesn't say anything more about it. He's already said more about it than he ever wanted to. It doesn't matter Amy's reason for doing what she did. The only thing that matters is that she did it. She was with Daryl and decided to go behind his back and be with Randall, too. The only thing that matters is he loved her and wanted to marry her. Live in a nice house with a nice girl and have a nice marriage and maybe start a nice family.

The only thing that matters is that he was stupid enough to think that Amy wanted all of that, too.

…

"Here we go," Paulie says with a smile as she pulls another blanket out from the closet and unfolding it, she spreads it over the bed.

"Ma, stop. I know where the blankets are if I need 'em," Daryl says from the doorway.

Paulie just ignores him and hums to herself as she fluffs the pillows as she turns the bed down for the night. The window in the bedroom is open and Daryl can hear the zapping of the bug light in the backyard as the mosquitos fly curiously into the blue glow. The next door neighbor has left his sprinkler on even though the air smells like rain and the neighbors on the other side are fighting with their windows open. They're always fighting.

Once Paulie stands up and looks to the bed with a smile, Louis comes running and jumping up, plopping himself at the foot.

"Now, what do you wan' for breakfast tomorrow mornin'?" Paulie asks her son.

He doesn't answer. He's a year away from being forty-years-old and it's bad enough that he has to move back in here and live with his mom because he needs the time to get back on his feet. He's not going to let her baby him with home-cooked meals and fresh bed sheets and towels in the bathroom.

Despite years of violent abuse from her deceased husband, Paulie Dixon still has remnants that show she was a beautiful girl once. Her hair is light – closer to being blonde than brown. Merle's hair is light like hers and Daryl's had been, too, when he was younger but as he got older, it got darker, just like his old man's. Her eyes are green and her hair has grey and her skin has wrinkles but she doesn't act like she's getting older and Daryl supposes that's all that matters. She walks with a permanent limp, favoring her left side – a leftover injury from when Will Dixon threw her down some stairs and she broke her hip.

"Don't be a stubborn ass. Reminds me too much of your dad," she frowns at him but her frown has no bite to it. "Biscuits and gravy and you best be at the table in the mornin'. I don't need you sneakin' out of here for work before gettin' somethin' in your stomach."

Daryl stares at her, trying to remain stubborn but sometimes – most of the time – with his mom, there's just no point to it. "Yes ma'm," he grumbles and Paulie smiles up at him.

She reaches up to him then a puts her hands on his cheeks, forcing him to look down at her. She's a little thing compared to her two sons.

"Everythin' will work out the way it's supposed to, Daryl Dixon. You just wait and see," she says and then with a pat on his cheeks, she moves past him, stepping back into the hallway, and with a good-night said over her shoulder, she heads into her own bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Daryl's not tired in the least but there's nothing else for him to do. He closes his door and without turning off the light, he flops back on the old double-size bed, still fully clothed. Louis turns himself around before flopping down again and resting his head on Daryl's stomach. Daryl absent-mindedly rubs him behind his ear as he turns his head and looks out the window, feeling the cool spring breeze blow through the screen.

He finally reaches over and turns off the light on the nightstand next to the bed, drowning himself in the darkness. He's still not tired though and he can't imagine himself getting to bed anytime soon. He can still hear the neighbors yelling. Apparently the guy used their rent money to buy some new video game and the woman is screaming her head off at him. If that's how he's going to spend their money, _he_ can give the lap dances to men and make his own damn money to waste.

His mind goes back to Amy. Of course it does. The harder he tries to stop thinking about her, she's the only thing his brain will allow him to think about.

He and Amy didn't really fight with one another. They had a couple of disagreements but for the most part, whatever she had wanted, Daryl had just gone along with it, wanting to keep things smooth and easy between them. Wasn't that what he was supposed to do? Wasn't that what she had wanted?

He wonders if she's at the bar tonight, watching Death by Destruction. It's Saturday, the band's usual night to play, but only for an hour because the bar's owner, Joe, isn't an idiot and an hour is all he can afford to give them to drive his customers away. But he can't refuse them completely since the lead singer just happens to be his son.

Daryl imagines Amy sitting on a stool, wearing some short skirt like she loves, and sipping her usual Jack and Coke through a little black straw, as she gazes adoringly to the little stage at the back of the bar, watching that idiot drummer who can't keep a steady beat if someone was hitting his knees with a hammer.

He knows Merle is probably there tonight, too. Merle and Joe are close friends and Merle is almost always at the bar no matter the night. Daryl just hopes Merle is smart enough to not start shit with his now _ex_ -girlfriend. Daryl doesn't need him to do that though he appreciates the loyalty Merle is expressing.

When Merle tells him that he's got friends who will be able to take care of Randall for a small fee, Daryl knows that his older brother isn't lying.

But Daryl's not interested. Not in the least. The sooner he can move on and forget all about Amy Harris – and all women alive still in the world for that matter – the better off he'll be. Besides, he now has more important things to worry about besides his ex.

Like how soon can he get himself moved the hell out of his mom's house.

…

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 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review and let me know what you think so far!**

 **I have begun working on my own original story so I won't be able to update this story as quickly as I have updated in the past. So please, just be patient with me!  
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	2. Doc Greene

**Thank you so, so much to your warm response on the first chapter. I'm very excited for telling this new story and am so glad that you all seem excited for it, too!**

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…

 **Chapter Two.**

And to think. She had been expecting Sunday to be a quiet day.

Beth is running the office just like her daddy did and she really has no set hours. If there is an animal in need of help, the person can bring it to see her or give her a call and she'll come to wherever she is needed. For the first few years of his practice, Hershel Greene had had an office out in the barn but eventually, he moved it into the house – the first floor sitting room has become the vet's waiting room and the spare guest bedroom right off of it has become the exam room.

She had been worried – for all of two seconds – that after her daddy died, no one would come and bring their animals to see her; that they would move onto the next vet in the next town over; that they would look at her and still see little Bethy Greene and not _Dr_. Greene.

But it really had just been a concern for about two seconds before one of the older women Beth recognized from church came up to her in the kitchen at the funeral luncheon and told her that her cat had some sort of dry cough and could she please take a look and help him?

Beth is still little Bethy Greene to most people in this town but she is Hershel's daughter and he had boasted proudly of his youngest graduating from veterinarian school; boasted so much so, no one can possibly ever think that that she is incompetent in her role. When her daddy passed away, Beth became the new Dr. Greene in town and no one questioned it.

"You are doing so good, Louis," she says to the chocolate lab currently laying out on the steel table in the exam room in her softest, most gentle tone.

The dog whimpers a little and begins trying to move and Beth stills her pliers immediately. The dog's owner, Daryl Dixon, adjusts his arms so he's holding the dog down more firmly.

"Sorry," he mumbles.

"It's alright," she says, giving the man a small smile before looking down to the dog. "Just a few more, Louis," she goes back to speaking to him and in his eyes, she can see how scared the dog is and how much he's probably hurting right now. "You are doing so good, Louis."

With her pliers, she pulls the porcupine needles from the dog's snout as slowly and as carefully as she can, not wanting any of them to break off because then she'll have to get her tweezers and it will be more painful for Louis if she has to dig around for the end of it instead of just slowly – very slowly – pulling the needles out with her sterilized pliers.

She had gone to church that morning and had come home after service, making herself a breakfast of eggs and toast. She's still getting used to how quiet the farm is. Otis doesn't come to work on the weekends and mama and daddy are both gone now. Her older sister, Maggie, got married and moved with her husband, Glenn, up to Michigan, where his family is, and her older brother, Shawn, is off doing what Shawn does – which is pretty much whatever he feels like. He sends postcards and the last one she got from him had been from Los Angeles. Beth is the one who stayed in state to go to college and come home once graduating and now, it's just her in a farmhouse that's too big and too quiet for just her.

The pickup truck had come speeding down the dirt road towards the house around noon and Beth knew immediately that it was someone who needed her help. She hurried out onto the front steps to see Daryl Dixon rush out of his door, not even bothering to close it, as he then went to the other side. When he pulled something gingerly from the front seat beside him, wrapped up in a blanket, Beth had moved into action.

Just a few more needles left. Beth's hand is steady even as her heart pounds away. It's okay though. It's going well and Louis is being so good even as he is whining and wanting to get away. Daryl's arms are strong though as he holds onto the dog.

"It's a common myth that porcupines actually project their needles," Beth begins talking, speaking in that still quiet, gentle tone to the dog. "So, you must have gotten pretty close to the animal for him to get you, Louis."

She's quiet, pulling out another long needle and dropping it into the metal bowl next to her with a soft _ping_. She lifts her eyes to glance at Daryl for only a second before putting her attention once again on Louis. She doesn't say anything else. Just waits. She knows Daryl Dixon. Not well but she knows enough and she knows that he talks very rarely but when he does, it's in his own time. There's no use in forcing words out of him.

Her daddy had told her as much when she had gone off to school and with all of his children from the house, Daryl would come over to help with the handy work that needed to be done and the man always invited him for dinner. And sometimes, Daryl would agree and stay and Hershel had gotten to know Daryl and in turn, Hershel would tell Beth things so she would know him, too. They called one another nearly every day and gave one another the report of what was happening in their lives and Daryl was a part of her daddy's report.

"Was out huntin'," Daryl finally speaks in that gruff tone of his. "Trackin' after a buck. Louis got on the porcupine's scent and before I could stop 'im, he tracked it and got too close. Scared the porcupine. Thought he was bein' threatened."

"Who could ever think you would be threatening them, huh, Louis?" Beth smiles at the dog.

She's stiff by the time she pulls out the remaining four needles and with a soft grunt, Beth straightens up, putting a hand on her lower back. Daryl arms loosen around Louis just enough for the dog to move a bit but he makes sure he keeps him up on the table.

"Hold him for just another second," she says as she goes to the shelf and takes down a bottle of cleaning antiseptic and a gauze pad.

If Louis was a human, he'd be screaming the instant Beth swipes the pad across his snout. She bends over quickly and blows on it as Daryl's arms strain, holding the struggling dog.

"Shhhh, Louis," she said gently. "You're so brave. It's done now. I promise."

She blew once more and then turned to throw the gauze and porcupine needles out. "Make sure he keeps that clean. Don't let him go sniffing in the dirt or rolling in the grass. And come and bring him back to see me on Tuesday," she says, looking back to Daryl.

Daryl nods and he lifts Louis from the table, setting him down on the floor. The dog immediately shakes his whole body as if trying to rid himself of the entire experience.

"Thanks, Doc. What do I owe 'ya?" Daryl asks. "My wallet's in the truck so give me a second to go get it," he then tells her.

Beth hesitates. She doesn't feel right charging him. It's not like Louis needed his shots or surgery. He just needed pliers and her steady hand. And Daryl seems to notice her hesitating because he frowns at her as if she's just greatly insulted him and it's such a fierce frown, it nearly makes her take a step backwards to get away from it.

"I'll mail you the bill," she's quick to promise him.

Daryl stares at her for a moment and then gives a single nod of his head. "You better."

…

In small Southern towns like theirs, sometimes, it feels like time doesn't move at all.

And if it does, it moves very slowly and sometimes, Beth will walk around town – going to the small grocery store or going to the bank or to the hair salon to see her friend, Rosita – and it will feel like she never left for college at all. Almost everything is exactly the way it was when she had left when she was eighteen. Some people have passed on – her daddy not being around, leaving a large hole in her life she can't imagine ever being filled again – but babies have been born and they even got a new family who had moved to town a couple of years ago. And _that_ had been quite the event because no one ever moved here. The people who lived here, their families had been living in this area for generations.

Monday morning, Beth has seen a little Basset Hound puppy who had needed his booster shots, a parrot who isn't talking anymore and deeply concerning his owners, and a little girl had brought a frog in a shoe-box that she had caught down by the creek that flows through town and it didn't look "right" to her.

At noon, Beth closes the office for a little bit so she can take a break for lunch. There is a sign on the front door that if anyone comes by and she's not there but needs her, to call her cell.

She waves to Otis, who is at the barn, working on one of horse's shoes and he waves back as she climbs into the old farm pickup truck. She drives into town – a blink and you miss it kind of town with most of the businesses on the main street and the houses shooting off on the small streets on either side. It's small and it doesn't seem as if there's much to it but Beth has always loved it here. She's not like Maggie and Shawn, who have both always been on the lookout for something bigger and better. This is her home and Beth really can't imagine herself living anywhere else.

She had done the Atlanta thing for a few years. She had experienced city living and had decided that it wasn't for her. _This_ is for her and she just wishes her daddy could be here, too, so they could share the Greene veterinary practice together.

Beth parks the truck in the small lot next to the diner and heads inside to join the lunch crowd. The diner has an official name – Oak Tree Diner – which still appears on its laminated menus but no one calls it by that. It's simply the diner. There are two other restaurants in town – a Chinese all-you-can-eat buffet and a Mexican restaurant – as well a pizza parlor and a Subway. But when someone wants pancakes at two o'clock in the afternoon or a cheeseburger at nine in the morning, they know to go to the diner.

Most of those at the tables and the counter are cops and the men from the cardboard box factory in town – the biggest employer around – on their lunch break. She finds a seat for herself on a stool at the counter in between two men – Sheriff Grimes and a factory man and they exchange friendly smiles with one another.

"Hi, Beth," the waitress, Paulie Dixon, smiles at her from the other side of the counter. As long as Beth can remember, it seems like Paulie is the only waitress here at the diner because no matter what time Beth comes here, Paulie's the one who's working. "You want anything to drink?" She asks as she hands Beth one of the menus and holds a coffee pot in her other hand.

"Hi Paulie. Diet Coke, and please tell me that that's a hummingbird cake over there," Beth says, looking to the thick delicious-looking cake at the end of the counter under a plastic lid.

The diner featured a new special cake every few days, baked by Paulie, and they were always quick to sell out. Beth can't believe she's gotten here in time to still get a piece.

"Baked just this morning," Paulie gives her a grin. "I'll cut you a slice."

Paulie walks away and Beth nearly licks her lips in anticipation. She hasn't had hummingbird cake in a very long time. Probably not since when her mama was still alive.

"How are you doin', Beth?" Sheriff Rick Grimes asks her then and Beth looks to the lean man in his uniform with curly brown hair, his Sheriff's hat on the counter next to him and a coffee cup in his hand.

He looks tired to her and she knows he and his wife, Lori, had recently had a baby, Judy. Beth suspects they're getting used to having a baby again since their son, Carl, is already in the dreaded tween age.

And Beth gives an honest nod in return because Sheriff Grimes and her daddy had always been close friends and had respected one another greatly. "Trying to get used to it," she answers. "Even though I really _don't_ want to get used to it."

Rick nods with understanding and Beth knows that he gets it. Just a couple summers ago, both of his parents had been killed in a car crash. They had died instantly on the Parish Bridge. One second, they were here, and the next, they were gone. Snap of a finger. Blink of an eye. Just like how Hershel had collapsed on the floor of the barn from a heart attack. One second, her daddy was here and the next, he wasn't.

As awful as it sounds, at least with her mother, the cancer hadn't taken her right away and Beth had had the time to spend with her and come to terms with the fact that Annette Greene was dying. It hadn't made it easier but it had made it… _something_. With Hershel, there had been no warning or preparation time at all and Beth doesn't know what was worse. To be prepared for it or to be completely taken by surprise.

Both are pretty awful if anyone asks her.

"Here you go, sweetie," Paulie appears again with a glass of fizzling ice-cold Diet Coke and a thick triangle slab of the banana and pineapple cake with pecans that is so large, it nearly takes up the entire plate.

Beth can't help but laugh. "Did you leave any left for someone else?" She asks as she unwraps her fork from her napkin, ready to dive in.

"It's my thanks to you for helping Louis yesterday," Paulie says. "Louis and Daryl are stayin' with me for a while and Daryl told me what you did."

Beth doesn't ask why Daryl is staying with his mother for the time being. Everyone knows about the breakup between Daryl and Amy Harris and Beth supposes that's one of the obvious downsides to living in a small town like this. Your business is everyone's business. And that's something Beth has never wanted to give into. Too much gossip makes her sick but deep down, she can't help herself when she wonders what the hell is wrong with Amy where she would break up with Daryl Dixon.

She doesn't know him but she knows enough and the way he had worried about and taken care of his dog yesterday has shown her all she needs to know. A man who treats animals with kindness is a good man.

"There is no reason to thank me. It's my job," Beth says. "But thank you," she then smiles.

Paulie just pushes the plate closer to her and goes off to deliver fresh food to another table.

The first bite of the moist, dense cake Beth takes, she can't help but moan a little and Rick overhears and snickers a little to himself as he smiles before taking another sip of coffee.

…

After trying to pay for the slice of cake and being refused by Paulie, Beth leaves a twenty-dollar tip by her plate and hurries out before Paulie can yell at her about it.

Outside, she pulls the keys to the truck from her purse but before heading home, she crosses the street for Mitchell's Drug Store, needing to get a couple of things she noticed this morning that she was running low on.

Just as she lifts an arm to push the door open, the door is being pulled open from inside and she nearly falls into the person who is stepping out.

"I'm so, so sorry," Beth is quick to apologize and scramble to steady herself and feeling a hand on her elbow to help, she lifts her eyes and sees that she has fallen into no one other than Daryl Dixon. He's looking down at her with a blank face and she feels her cheeks flush.

"You a'right, Doc?" He asks in that gruff tone of his and Beth wonders how much he smokes.

"Sorry about that," she says and tries to ignore the reaction her body is having to his hand still on her elbow.

His hand is rough – which isn't surprising considering he owns his own carpentry business in town – and his fingertips are warm and even though she can feel the humidity hanging in the air that day like a blanket, she feels like shivering anyway.

Daryl is still looking at her and his hand falls to hang at his side.

They stand there for a few seconds in silence before he lifts an eyebrow at her and Beth realizes that she's blocking his way out. If possible, she feels her cheeks stain an even darker red, now practically on fire, and she is quick to step from his way.

"Sorry," she manages to say once more but she doesn't look at him again and before he can say anything in response – not that she's expecting him to – Beth hurries into the store.

She's pretty sure she doesn't breathe again until she's in the aisle where the shampoo and conditioner bottles are kept.

And just what the hell is the matter with you, Beth Greene, she demands of herself to know. It's not like that's the first time she's ever seen Daryl Dixon – or any attractive man for that matter. Daryl had just been at her house yesterday with Louis but she just embarrassed herself too much to even ask how the dog is doing and she's acting like some silly girl who's never been in contact with the opposite sex before.

Perfect way to show everyone how professional you are, she grumbles to herself. She doubts her daddy stumbled and blushed around his patients.

She grabs the bottle of shampoo and another of conditioner of the usual brand she uses and she heads towards the front counter. George Mitchell, the man whose family has owned the drugstore for as long as there's been a town there, is standing at the cash register and he smiles broadly when he sees her.

"Hi, Doc," he greets her and scans the two bottles.

"Hi, George," Beth smiles in return, feeling more like herself now. Her face is no longer feeling as if it's on fire, at least. "It feels so good in here," she then comments on the cold air.

Yes, it does," George agrees with a nod of his head. "Daryl Dixon was just in here and he offered to check on the vents. Hasn't felt good like this in here all summer. Well, you know his older brother, Merle, works for the air repair place but he shows up whenever the heck he wants even if you make an appointment. It's a wonder that boy hasn't gotten fired yet."

Beth doesn't comment. She's pretty sure George and Merle Dixon are the same age and Merle probably wouldn't like being called "boy" by anyone – especially George Mitchell.

"But you know Daryl has spent most of his life keeping that brother of his out of trouble," George continues and Beth stands there with a tight, polite smile on her face because she hates gossip but it's just as rude to just interrupt him so she can leave. "Will Dixon leaving that family – and this town – was a blessing but I think it was too late for Merle. He had spent too much time around that dad of his and picked up on some of his bad habits."

And Beth has no idea what to say to any of this even if she wanted to participate in the conversation. She never knew Will Dixon. She knows _of_ him. In a small town, no one forgets bad seeds like that no matter how many years have passed.

"At least Paulie has Daryl. One out of two isn't bad, I suppose," George finishes with a sigh.

Beth takes the plastic bag from him and gives him another smile, taking the opportunity to step back towards the door. "Have a good day, George," she says as friendly as she can.

"You, too, Doc," he says with a nod and she is quick to leave the store.

Crossing the street once more to her truck, she gets in and heads back towards the farm. She's been gone far longer than she had wanted to be and she needs to open the office again. She has a couple of appointments scheduled later that day and she needs to order some more supplies and she needs to go over the schedule for tomorrow… Beth nearly groans just when she thinks about tomorrow.

She told Daryl to bring Louis back tomorrow.

Hopefully, she can get through the checkup without setting herself on fire with her blush. She doesn't even ask herself why she wants to blush around Daryl Dixon all of a sudden. She already knows she doesn't have an answer.

…

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 **Thank you so much for reading and please take a moment to comment!**


	3. Priorities

**I cannot thank you all who has been supporting this story enough times. It means the world to me.**

 **PS - I really love Emily's new haircut for _Conviction_.**

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…

 **Chapter Three.**

Owning his own business and setting his own hours makes things a bit easier for him sometimes so when Doc tells him that she wants to see Louis again Tuesday morning at ten, Daryl has no problem making the appointment.

He arrives a little early and the exam room door is closed so he settles himself down into one of the chairs in the waiting room, Louis plopping himself at his feet. There's another woman sitting there, on the little sofa, with a box in her lap. She's older with wrinkles on her dark skin as if she has spent much of this life laughing. Daryl wonders what time her appointment is. Maybe she's really early to hers or maybe he has gotten the time wrong when Doc had wanted him here.

He doesn't worry about it though. He's not in a hurry today either way. He absent-mindedly rubs Louis behind his ears as he looks around the vet's waiting room that had once been the house's fancy sitting room. There are framed posters on the walls of advertisements for flea drops and heart-worm pills and how important it is to keep your pets vaccinated and another for good oral hygiene. Framed degrees from veterinarian schools are hanging on the wall as well – for Hershel Greene and Elizabeth Greene. There is a fireplace in the room and along the mantel, there are even more framed photographs – of the Greene family – mainly Hershel during his career, pictured with various animals at different times in life. The newest photograph is of the Doc in her cap and gown and degree in her hands with her older sister, brother-in-law and brother standing with her, celebrating her graduation day. Hershel Greene missing from the picture is so obvious, it almost hurts to look at it.

It is a small town and he knows of the Greene family just as everyone knows of the Dixon family. The Green family has always had a good reputation in their county. Hershel's dad apparently had been a mean son-of-a-bitch but no one's alive anymore to remember him. They remember Hershel and Annette Green though – and Josephine, Hershel's first wife – and they had all been the kind of people where no one could think of a wrong word to say about any of them. They were hard-working and kind and always willing to help anyone.

With all of his children grown and gone and Otis, his farmhand, getting a little older as well, Hershel often called Daryl for his help with some maintenance work around the farm and house and Daryl had always been more than willing to help. No matter what he told the man his fee, Hershel always paid more than he had to and never took it back when Daryl did his best to refuse. He did stay for dinner when the older man offered and as they talked – or rather Hershel talked and Daryl listened – Daryl began thinking that maybe, they had more in common with one another than anyone would think.

Hershel's sudden death had been a blow to the entire town.

But Beth's moved back and has taken over the Greene veterinary practice and it seems like the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree with that girl.

Daryl can admit to himself that she's nice. Hell, he can even admit that she's pretty cute but she reminds him too much of Amy. Too damn much. The blonde hair and blue eyes and Amy had been pretty nice and sweet, too – or so he had thought. And if he thinks that Amy had maybe been too young for him, Beth Greene is practically a damn fetus compared to him. He's already gone down the road with a younger woman. He's not going to do it again. Not that he even has to worry about it. Nothing will ever happen with the Doc. Since she's moved back, there are other men in town who have definitely taken note of her. Daryl's not one of them.

The exam door opens and Doc steps out then. She's dressed casually – blue jeans with the cuffs rolled up to her calves with Converse sneakers on her feet, a blue tee-shirt and her white lab coat. She is smiling and laughing as a big man – Daryl recognizes him as Tyreese – steps out with a Dalmatian hooked onto a leash. Louis immediately gets to his feet to go and sniff at the other dog but Daryl holds tightly onto the leash, keeping him close to him.

"Thanks for your help, Doc," Tyreese is saying to her with his wide grin.

"Just make sure you tell the other firemen to stop feeding him so much. Dogs don't need twenty meals a day," Beth smiles make and with a laugh, Tyreese heads out.

Beth looks to Daryl and the other women in the waiting room. "Jacqui, I have to see to Daryl and Louis first but then you'll be next."

"No hurries, doctor," the woman on the couch smiles.

Beth smiles and looks to Daryl. "You guys ready?" She asks.

Daryl stands without a word and leads Louis into the exam room. Beth closes the door once more and Daryl hoists Louis up onto the steel exam table. The dog's tail is no longer wagging. Instead, it's now tucked behind his hind legs and his ears are flat to his head.

"Don't worry, Louis," Beth says in that gentle voice of hers she uses on all of the animals. "I promise I won't hurt you today."

She goes through the standard exam, listening to his heart, checking his teeth and his ears, running her hands down his body and legs, feeling for anything that might be unusual. She then looks to his snout, using careful, gentle touches.

"'ve been keepin' it as clean as I can," Daryl finally speaks up. "I usually take him to job sites with me but I didn' want to get sawdust near 'im."

Beth smiles at that and nods with approval as she keeps looking it over. "It's looking good. A little pink but that's to be expected after how many needles I had to pull out of him. I'm going to want to put him on an antibiotic. One pill, twice a day, for a week."

Daryl nods as Beth goes to one of the shelves and opens a drawer. She takes a moment, looking through the medicine kept there, and he can't help but look at her. She looks different today. He had just seen her the day before – colliding with her in front of Mitchell's drug store – and she looks the same and yet, something _is_ slightly off. He just can't put his finger on it.

When she turns around with a brown pill bottle in her hand, he suddenly gets it.

"You cut your hair," he then says before he can get himself not to.

She pauses for a second – surprise clear on her face – and then she smiles, her hand going to her blonde hair that is now to her shoulders. "Last night. My best friend, Rosita, works at the salon in town and she came over to do it. Nothing too drastic. Just a few inches. A change."

"Looks nice," he hears himself mumble and he looks away but not before noticing the pink stain to her cheeks at his compliment.

"Thank you," Beth says quiet and after a moment, she clears her throat. "Here you go. One in the morning and one at night. Roll it in a piece of cheese or meat so he won't spit it out. It will help prevent an infection and hopefully, by next week, he'll be just as good and can get back out there, hunting and working with you."

Daryl nods, looking at the pill bottle.

"He's such a beautiful dog," Beth comments as she begins another examination, her hands running over the dog's body and Louis is panting, smiling at her as if he knows what she's saying. "I was so shocked when I found him. I couldn't believe someone would just dump a dog off at a rest stop and drive away. Of course, people do all sorts of terrible things to animals and they never make any sense to me."

Daryl's not too sure what to say though he agrees. He thinks there's a special place in hell for people who mistreat animals. One time, he had been tagging along with Merle – as he used to be prone to do – to one of Merle's friend's house and in a drunken stupor, Merle had kicked at a cat in the house that had been walking past. Daryl hadn't hesitated in punching his brother across the face. Drunk or not drunk, no one does shit like that in front of Daryl.

"He's been a good dog," Daryl nods. "I got 'im for Amy but she hadn't wanted him after…"

He trails off then and he really has _no_ idea why he's just said that. He doesn't talk about Amy or the breakup and he's been doing his damn best to not even think about her. Of course, it's a small town so he's already seen her a couple of times. Nothing too up close and personal. Just sitting in the diner and seeing her through the window, walking past. Silently, deep down, he hates how good she's looking.

"Well, just between you and me, Amy's never seemed that smart to me," Beth quips then and he smiles at that before he can stop himself. "Alright," she takes a deep breath then. "I'm going to want another follow-up appointment with you two next week, once he's out of the antibiotic."

Daryl nods. "You got it. How much I owe you?"

This time, she doesn't seem to hesitate and be reluctant to charge him. She goes to her desk and sits down at the computer. As she types something out, Daryl lifts Louis and sets him down, keeping an eye on him as he trots around the room, sniffing at everything he can. Beth hits a button and a piece of paper spits out on the printer. Daryl takes it when she holds it out to him and he looks at the total, frowning.

"This it?" He asks.

He's not an idiot. He knows owning a dog isn't cheap and he shouldn't be complaining when a vet's bill _isn't_ through the roof but this doesn't seem right.

"Yep," Beth nods. "Eighty for the pills."

He looks at her. "You still ain't charged me for Sunday's visit," he reminds her. "And aren't you supposed to be chargin' me every time you examine him?"

"You _want_ a higher bill?" She looks at him, both confused and surprised.

"I want a fair bill," he says, setting the piece of paper on the exam table, pushing it back towards her. She doesn't pick it up again. She just keeps looking at him and Daryl returns the look, waiting to see what she'll do or say next. "We all gotta make a livin', Doc. You're no different," he says.

She shakes her head. "I make enough."

Daryl doesn't say anything to that. He just keeps looking at her. He knows he shouldn't be that adamant about this. If she wants to under-charge him, he should let her. But it's about doing what's right and he's a Dixon and he doesn't take anything unless he's earned it.

"Fine," Beth sighs after another passing minutes. "One-hundred. Is that better?"

No, not really, but he knows that that's all he's going to get out of her right now.

He goes into his back pocket for his wallet and goes through his cash. He uses cash for everything. It was another thing that used to bother Amy for some reason. She has credit cards and debit cards and she always has to check balances and how much she has in her accounts and pay more bills and Daryl never understood why he'd want to do all of that just for a piece of plastic.

He likes cash – handling it and easily keeping track of his spending. He has a checkbook at home and he writes out his bills that way. Amy had told him every week when he sat down to do it that it is so antiquated and can he please jump into this current century? He had just ignored her though about it. He likes writing his checks and balancing his account and keeping track of things himself. He sees people just swipe their plastic over and over again and it's always just seemed so dangerous to him.

"You're a very stubborn man, Daryl Dixon," she says as she takes the two fifty-dollar bills he hands her.

He snorts at that and slipping the wallet back into his pocket, he hooks the leash onto Louis' collar once more. "You ain't so easy yourself, Doc," he replies in return.

He tells himself that the room's hot that morning and it's the only reason her cheeks are a darker pink than they were just a second ago.

…

When he built his mom her little greenhouse in the backyard, he never thought anything would come of it. He had always liked working with his hands and building things; had taught himself how to and had only gotten better the more he worked at it. He built his mom the greenhouse because she loved to garden and complained that she could only do it in the warm months so he took it upon himself to build her something she wanted but hadn't even thought to ask for.

And when others saw the greenhouse he had built, he started getting calls, asking him if he was able to build them something. And building led into general maintenance for people and their houses and Paulie took him down to the bank and town hall so he could get the proper papers and titles and he could start his own handyman business with the focus mostly on carpentry.

Up and running for three years and Daryl admits that he's doing pretty well for himself. He's been in the black ever since he opened for business and he makes enough money where he's actually able to make a living for himself. The past year, it's gotten to be so busy for him that he had to hire someone else to help him. With T-Dog, they're able to do even more jobs and make more money and they're busy solid six days a week. T-Dog is a religious man and won't allow himself to work on Sundays and even Daryl knows that they all need at least one day off.

With fried eggs, bacon and toast by Paulie, Daryl sits at the table and eats his breakfast and sips his coffee as Paulie stands at the stove, frying more bacon. She takes one of the antibiotic pills from the bottle on the counter and wrapping it up in a piece of bacon, she tosses it to Louis, the dog catching it in his mouth and seemingly swallowing the piece whole.

"What's your schedule like today?" Paulie asks as she brings her own plate of eggs and bacon to the table and sits down across from Daryl.

"Workin' on puttin' that new hardwood floor down in Andrea's office. T and I should have it done by lunch and then she wants some new bookcases built. Got to go over that with her."

Paulie nods, pausing to sip her orange juice. "It's good you're doin' that."

Daryl knows what she means and he just shrugs, shoving another bite of egg into his mouth, scooping the broken yellow yolk off his plate with his toast. "Her sister broke up with me. Andrea didn'. And she's a payin' customer."

"I know, but a more petty man wouldn' want to be anywhere near anyone from Amy's life."

Daryl shrugs again. "'s a small town. Not easy pretendin' she doesn' exist."

"I know you don't wanna hear it," Paulie begins. "But I'm glad you and Amy are done."

Daryl lifts his head, looking at his mom. A frown begins to form. "You were always tellin' me that you liked her."

"Because you did, Daryl, and I wanted you to know that I supported you," Paulie explains as if it's the easiest thing to comprehend. "But she wasn' the one for you. I could tell that the very first time you brought her 'round to meet me."

Daryl is still frowning at her but he doesn't know what to say to any of that. This is really the first time Paulie has even _hinted_ that she didn't care for Amy. Amy would say things sometimes – "I don't think your mom likes me that much" kind of things – but Daryl had just shook his head and thought that Amy was looking for something that wasn't there. He had always thought that his mom liked Amy and why wouldn't he think that? Paulie had never said anything differently.

Until now.

"Why you think that?" Daryl asks.

"Just a mother's intuition, I reckon."

Daryl keeps looking at her, waiting for her to say something else, but Paulie just goes on, eating her breakfast and smiling down at Louis as he begs at her side. He wants to ask her something else but he doesn't know exactly what. And they then both hear heavy steps on the back porch, which cuts the conversation off from continuing.

"Sure smells good in here," Merle grins as he pushes open the back door and steps into the kitchen. Louis is immediately there, greeting him with an eager wag of his tail, and Merle rubs the dogs behind his ears.

"Hi, honey. Breakfast?" Paulie asks, already moving towards the stove.

"Thanks, mama," Merle says and gives her a kiss on the cheek before going to the coffee machine on the counter and pouring himself a cup. He plops down in the third chair at the table and gives Daryl a grin.

Daryl chews on a piece of bacon. "Lookin' like your night's just endin'."

"It sure is, baby brother," Merle nods. "And it was a great night. Some college boys came to Joe's and thought they knew how to play pool. Five hundred dollars later and the only thing they know now is that they don't know how to play shit."

He reaches into his pocket, pulling out a wad of bills.

"Here you go, mama," Merle pulls out a few of the bills and holds it out for her.

Paulie comes and sets a plate of eggs and bacon in front of Merle and looks at the money. She hesitates before taking it and they know she's only taking it because it had nothing to do with some of Merle's other business ventures. There's an old coffee can on top of the refrigerator and she pulls it down, prying back the plastic lid and hiding the money inside.

"Also saw Amy there," Merle continues as he begins shoving eggs into his mouth like a starving man.

"'m sure you did," Daryl mutters, finishing up his own breakfast and looking to the clock.

He has to go pick up T by seven so they can get to Andrea's law office in town. Andrea used to work in Atlanta at some fancy law office in a high-rise but she must have gotten tired of it because she moved back to their little town a few years ago and opened her own practice, offering her services to people around here that needed a lawyer but might not have the greatest funds to get one. She rented an office on the main street that used to sell porcelain babies and angels and had been out of business and sitting empty for a few years before Andrea came back and she is finally looking to remodel it more to her tastes.

The phone on the wall begins ringing and he's grateful for the interruption. He doesn't really want to hear about Amy and whatever Merle had said to her because even though Daryl told him to leave her alone, Merle's rarely one to listen to anyone.

He gets up to answer it as Paulie tells Merle to chew with his mouth closed.

"'ello?" He speaks into the receiver.

"Daryl?"

He recognizes Beth's voice immediately and he can't help but be concerned – and a little confused – because there's obviously something wrong if she's calling him this early. Why else would the doc need to talk to him at six-thirty in the morning?

"Yeah," he answers. "Wha's wrong?"

Beth exhales a deep audible breath. "I don't know what's wrong but I have no running water. I think something might be wrong with the pumps and the wells but I have no idea and Otis isn't here yet and I tried calling the plumber in town but it's too early for him and his office isn't open yet and I know you probably already have a million things to do today but I need running water for the practice-"

"Yeah," he cuts into her rambling. "That shouldn' be a problem. I gotta pick up my guy but we'll be over in a half hour? That a'right?"

Beth exhales again. "I cannot thank you enough, Daryl."

"It'll be an easy fix," he then hears himself say though he really has no idea if it will be or not. It just seems like the thing to say right then.

And he doesn't know why but deep down, in the pit of his stomach, he almost feels this _need_ to want it to be easy for her because she sounds like she's on the verge of crying and even if it's not, he knows he won't stop working until the problem is fixed again.

He clears his throat. "A'right. So, I'll be there in a lil' bit."

"Thank you, Daryl," she breathes with relief again.

"See you soon, Doc," he says and then hangs up. He turns away from the phone, back to his mom and Merle still sitting at the table, who had clearly been eavesdropping. "Gotta go. Doc has a problem out on her farm she needs help with," he says to them.

He looks at them when both Paulie and Merle just smile in return, Merle's grin much wider than mom's – as if they're in on some joke Daryl didn't get the punch line to but Daryl doesn't ask them about it. They're always doing that to him. Since she was so young when she had him, Paulie and Merle have a special relationship that Daryl doesn't share. They are mother and son but being close in age, they're like bosom buddies, too, sometimes.

"Come on, Louis," Daryl says to the dog and he comes obediently trotting after him as Daryl heads out of the house and to his pickup truck parked in the driveway.

He'll give Andrea a call on the way and tell her that he'll be over a little later that morning than initially planned and he's not going to think why one call from her has made him make Doc his priority this morning.

…

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 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a second to review!**


	4. Payback

**Thank you very much for your patience in regards to this story. I know I'm not writing it as quickly as I have written my others but I'm really making headway on my original story that I'm working on. Also, for this story, I'm trying to be humorous - I guess? - so I hope some of you, at least, enjoy it. Thank you!**

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…

 **Chapter Four.**

She doesn't mean to call Daryl – especially when she's on the verge of tears. On the phone, she tries to keep the emotion and panic from her voice but it seems like Daryl picks up on it anyway. She really didn't want to bother him. From her daddy, she knows that Daryl is kept plenty busy by other people in town and she can't just shoehorn her way into his schedule.

But what she told him on the phone is true. She runs a medical office and she can't run that office if she doesn't have running water. And when she woke up this morning and went into the bathroom, leaning into the tub to turn the knobs so she could take her shower, the pipes groaned as if in pain and then absolutely nothing. No water came out. Just a few drops. She hurried to the sink to try those knobs but again, no water came out.

Looking at the clock, she saw that Otis wouldn't be here for another hour and she quickly got herself downstairs, looking up the number for Pete's Plumbing in the yellow pages. But the phone just kept ring and ringing and she was about to have a full-blown panic because her daddy showed her so much about the farm and how to run it but he had never showed her anything about the pumps. She didn't even know where to begin.

And then, for some reason, Daryl's face popped into her mind and she was calling him before she could stop herself and think it further through.

She gets herself dressed and pops two pieces of bread into the toaster and frowns because she can't even brew coffee. When she hears a pickup truck coming up the dirt road to the house, she hurries outside. She can't help but release a sigh of relief when she sees Daryl behind the wheel – as if she thought that he actually wouldn't come even though he said he'd be there. There's a man sitting in the front passenger seat next to Daryl. Dark-skinned, bald and stocky and Beth knows it's Theodore Douglas. T-Dog. They go to the same church.

"Thank you, thank you," Beth says quickly as soon as they step out of the truck, hurrying down the front steps, meeting them. Louis jumps out of the truck, too, and is instantly bouncing around her, his tail wagging and his tongue hanging. "Hey, boy," Beth smiles as she rubs him behind his ears for a moment.

She then looks to Daryl and T-Dog as they go to the back of the pickup truck, getting their tool belts and boxes and Louis is still jumping around here like an eager child on Christmas.

"I can't thank you both enough for coming out here like this," she says again as they come back towards her. "I tried calling Pete-"

"That man probably isn't sober yet," T-Dog comments and Daryl smirks in agreement, his eyes settled on Beth, not saying anything for a moment; just looking at her.

And Beth can't help but look at the man and just like she had yesterday and on Sunday outside of the drugstore, she feels a clenching in her stomach that she desperately tries to rid herself of. It's not that having a crush on Daryl Dixon would be the worst thing in the world. And she knows very well that this is what it is. A crush. A crush that has sprouted out of nowhere, it seems.

It's just… having a crush on the man is inappropriate. He just got out of a long-term relationship and she can tell he's not looking for another and her daddy just died and she's trying to get her footing when it comes to running the practice and running everything on her own… she doesn't have the time to have a crush.

It makes perfect sense to her brain and she wishes her stomach could just get on board.

"The main pump is this way," she then remembers to say and she points over her shoulder, back towards the house, and Daryl and T-Dog both follow after her, Louis running around all of them, as she walks them around to the side of the house.

She finds it amusing that Louis is so excited to be here – after all, his visits to the vet haven't been that great so far – but then she thinks of when he was a puppy and she had brought him here to her daddy after finding him in that rest stop and for a few weeks, this farm was home to him. He must remember – not that he's too old to have forgotten already.

"So, I'm not sure what happened," she says as they come to a stop next to the large main pump, rusted but her daddy had always said that that's just on the outside. Inside, there's nothing wrong it. "I had water last night and then this morning, nothing."

Daryl crouches down, opening his toolbox and takes out a wrench, twisting open the side panel. Beth stands, watching them, as T-Dog stands behind Daryl, shining a flashlight into the large pipe that sucks the water from the well and brings it towards the house. T-Dog says something, too low for Beth to hear, but Daryl does and he just grunts in response.

Beth's not too sure what to do. She doesn't want to stand there and look over their shoulders as if she doesn't trust them. She should go back inside and get her office ready for the first appointment of the day – if she's still able to keep them and doesn't have to cancel everything today. But she doesn't think she will have to. Daryl has a reputation in town. Apparently, he can fix anything and build anything, too. Her daddy hadn't been able to say enough good things about Daryl during their phone calls. It had been obvious to Beth that Hershel had missed Shawn – Shawn off gallivanting around, never staying in one spot for too long but rarely choosing to come back to Georgia – and in place of his son, the older man had chosen Daryl Dixon as some sort of surrogate.

Beth wonders if Hershel had ever talked to Daryl about her.

 _Not_ that it matters if whether or not he had.

"Would you two like some juice?" She asks, remembering that she can't offer them coffee at the moment and she really needs coffee soon, herself, or she should not be held responsible for her actions.

Daryl doesn't lift his head from the pump and T-Dog is the one to smile at her.

"That'd be great, Doc. Thanks," he says.

And finally, not feeling like a lump on a log, Beth turns and head back towards the house.

She wishes she had had to call them out here for something other than no running water. She wishes she had gotten the chance to take a shower before seeing Daryl this morning. Rosita has told her that a person actually _shouldn't_ shower every day but Beth does simply because she absolutely loves showers. She loves standing under the almost too-hot spray, washing her hair, having it smell like coconut, and scrubbing her body whether it's really dirty or not.

She's always had the worst habit of staying in the shower for too long before Maggie or Shawn were pounding on the bathroom door for her to hurry up and stop using up all of the hot water.

Beth just feels infinitely better when she climbs out from a shower than when she had climbed in and not having taken one this morning, she feels crummy and greasy and she wishes Daryl didn't see her like this.

She sighs heavily to herself. She knows she's being completely ridiculous but she keeps insisting on being. Isn't that the definition of insanity, she wonders to herself, as she climbs the back steps and heads into the kitchen.

Going to the cabinet, she takes down two glasses and sets them on the center island counter before opening the refrigerator door – adorned with pictures of the Greene family.

Sometimes, it feels so strange for Beth when she stops and looks at them or when here at night, by herself in this big house, she walks past the empty bedrooms upstairs. She's the last Greene here. She's all on her own. Daddy and mama are dead and buried in the small cemetery next to their church. Maggie's in Michigan with Glenn and Shawn is wherever Shawn wants to be and now, there's just her. Just her in this big house on this big farm and this farm has been in the family for generations and what is she going to do if she just can't do it? She doesn't even know how to look over the pumps when they stop working.

And then, before she can stop herself, hot tears flood her eyes. This happens more than she would like. She'll get to think of the farm or the practice or how she's all on her own and she just feels completely alone and overwhelmed with it all. She tells herself that can do this. She's not a little girl anymore and her daddy and mama did not raise a weak girl. If she can make it through veterinary school – the hardest thing she's ever had to do – and get through the deaths of _both_ of her parents, then she sure as pudding can do all of this, too.

She hears a knock then on the kitchen screen door and with the jug of apple juice in her hand, she spins towards the sound. It's Daryl and he's watching her through the screen and she's suddenly aware that a few of the tears have escaped, slipping down her cheeks. She is quick to turn her head from him and wipe them away though she knows it's too late and he has now witnessed her, standing in the kitchen and crying in front of the refrigerator.

And with that, Daryl Dixon more than likely thinks she's crazy.

"Hi," she gives him a smile. "I have the juice," she then tells him lamely.

She then goes to the screen door and pushes it open so he knows he can come inside. He still seems to hesitate and she doesn't really blame him. What normal guy would want to be around a girl he hardly knows who's crying in her kitchen?

But then he does step inside, his eyes on her and not leaving, and Beth turns to go fill the two glasses with the apple juice.

"The pump was pullin' in mud last night," Daryl speaks then. "All the rain we've been havin' lately, it's been buildin' up in the pipes. Think me and T got it cleaned now. Jus' gotta try…" he trails off then and he nods his head towards the sink.

"Oh!" She sets the glasses down on the counter and hurries to the sink. She breathes with relief when she turns the knob and water comes streaming out. She watches it for a second and then turning it off, she turns towards Daryl, her smile wide. "Daryl, thank you."

He shrugs as if it's not a big deal and she knows that to him, it's probably not.

He goes back towards the door and opens the screen door. "We're good, T!" He calls out. He turns back into the kitchen and the screen door slaps behind him.

Beth doesn't mean to but since he's standing in her kitchen, she can't help but look at him. He's wearing jeans and a black tee-shirt and she can see his build beneath. His hair is dark and too long and yet, she can't imagine him with nicely trimmed hair. It wouldn't be him.

"I can't thank you enough," she says.

He shrugs again. "'s nothin'."

"What do I owe you?" She asks, moving towards the desk in the corner where she pays all of the household bills; the spot where her daddy and mama and her grandparents did before her. She even still uses a checkbook, too, just like they had. She knows it would be so much easier, doing everything on the computer, but she likes sitting down on Sunday evenings and working the numbers out with her pen and calculator.

She picks up a pen and her checkbook now and turns back towards Daryl. He has taken one of the glasses of apple juice and he is lifting it to his lips but he stops when he sees what she's holding. She can't help but laugh, just imagining what he's thinking.

"I know," she shakes her head slightly. "My sister says I need to come into this century but I like writing checks," she explains with a shrug. "Do I write it out to you? I actually don't know the name of your company," she then realizes.

He takes a gulp of apple juice then and shakes his head as he sets the glass down again. "You don't owe me anythin', Doc," he tells her.

Her frown is immediate. "What do I owe you?" She asks again, her tone a bit firmer.

"Nothin'," he states again. "This is me payin' you back for Louis' exams."

Beth's frown deepens. "I charged you for that."

Daryl doesn't say anything to that. He just takes the second glass of apple juice and heads back outside. Beth doesn't hesitate in following after him, her checkbook still in hand, back to the main pump where T-Dog is, wiping their tools and putting them away. He straightens when he sees them coming and grins when Daryl hands him the glass of apple juice. Louis is back to dancing happily at Beth's feet, wanting her to give him attention but first, she has to deal with his stubborn owner.

She gives Daryl a glare and then looks to T-Dog. "How much do I owe you?" She asks him in a sweet-as-pie voice.

But T-Dog is just like Daryl and he takes a sip of his apple juice and shakes his head. "Whatever Daryl told you the amount was…" he says and looks to Daryl then, a little confusion clear in his eyes. And Daryl shakes his head back at him. T-Dog looks back to Beth with another smile. "Don't worry about it, Doc. We were happy to help you out."

Beth looks back to Daryl with a set jaw and as intimidating glare as she can manage – which to Daryl, she figures, must not be that intimidating at all because Daryl just smirks at her and then leans down, grabbing his toolbox.

"Let's go, Louis," he commands to the dog and the dog obediently comes trotting after him as Daryl heads back towards the truck.

T-Dog tilts his head back and drains the rest of the juice before handing Beth the empty glass. He bends down and picks up his own toolbox. "Thanks again, Doc," he says before following after Daryl and Beth still stands there, clenching her checkbook as a moment later, Daryl pulls the truck around and drives off down the path.

…

Rosita Espinosa was her best friend in high school and when Beth went off to college in Atlanta, Rosita went to cosmetology school in the next town over and they stayed in touch for the most part but Rosita had her life and Beth had hers. But when Beth came back, the two have instantly fallen back into being best friends and Beth is so thankful for that because even though it's a small town and she had lived there her whole life with everyone knowing and liking her, it feels good to have at least _one_ confidant among them all.

Rosita works at "Sheer Genius", the one women's salon in town, and after her last appointment for the day – adorable Sophia Peletier with her cat, Mr. Higgins – Beth drives the pickup from the farm into town and parks in the salon's lot. The lights are on inside but she knows that Rosita is the only stylist still working. Wednesdays are her late night. And when Beth walks inside, Rosita is standing at her chair with Lori Grimes sitting in front of her, facing the mirror, a cape around her front as Rosita combs her long, dark wet hair. Baby Judith Grimes is fast asleep in her carrier at her feet.

Both women turn their heads when they see Beth and they smile warmly – a greeting that gets Beth smiling at them, too. She stops to help herself to a Dum-Dum sucker from the jar next to the front door and she then comes, plopping down in the empty stylist's chair in the station next to Rosita's.

"We were just about to call the diner for some dinner. You in?" Rosita asks.

"God, yes," Beth says. "Do you think any of Paulie's cake would be left?"

"Not at this hour," Rosita shakes her head. "What are you thinking?" She then asks Lori, looking at her in the mirror's reflection. "You would totally rock a bob."

"And I still think you're insane," Lori quips back. "What do you think, Beth?" She asks.

Beth has unwrapped her cherry sucker and has popped it into her mouth. "Does Daryl Dixon have an office?" She asks thoughtfully, gazing up towards the ceiling, obviously not hearing a word of the previous exchange between the women. Rosita and Lori both look at her and after a moment, Beth looks at them. "What?" She asks.

Lori lets out a laugh and Rosita grins.

"Exactly. What?" Rosita teases her.

"It's just that he's so infuriating," Beth says, sitting up in the chair. "He and T-Dog came to the farm today because I had a problem with my pumps-"

Rosita opens her mouth to make a comment about that.

"-quit it," Beth cuts her off before she can and Rosita grins. "And Daryl refused to charge me. He was being completely ridiculous about the whole thing. I think I might just have to mail him a check."

"Just go give it to Paulie," Rosita suggests. "You know that woman will make him take it." She pauses. "Actually, Paulie adores you so she probably will be on Daryl's side about not charging you."

"Or I can take it, honey," Lori offers. "Daryl's hanging out at our house tonight. Rick and him and some others are over, playing cards and acting like men."

Beth sighs though and shakes her head. "I don't have my checkbook with me." She pops her sucker back into her mouth and sucks on it for a few minutes, thinking to herself.

She doesn't know why Daryl has to be so darn stubborn. She charged him for Louis' medicine. And what did he say to her just yesterday? _"We all gotta make a livin', Doc. You're no different."._ Well, he's no different either. Why does he expect her to charge him but doesn't charge her in return? That man is so confusing. And why, when he's absolutely nowhere near her, does her stomach still clench itself just at the _thought_ of him?

It's probably because he saw her crying in her kitchen this morning. He probably feels sorry for her. And if that's the case, he's not just confusing. He's infuriating. How dare he feel sorry for her. If anything, she's the one who should feel sorry for him. Amy was cheating on him and now he's had to move back in with his mom. Everyone knows that.

Lori exhales a deep breath. "Oh, just keep it the same, Rosita. One inch as you always do."

"One of these days, Lori, you're going to let me do something big," Rosita says as she begins sectioning and snipping away.

"Daryl Dixon is _not_ allowed to feel sorry for me," Beth announces then suddenly.

"What?" Both Lori and Rosita ask at the same time.

Beth doesn't explain. She gets up from the chair, her mind made up. Her purse is still slung across her chest and she opens it, pulling out her wallet.

"Lori, when you go home tonight and Daryl's there, give this to him and make sure that he knows that it's from me." Beth pulls out five twenty-dollar bills and holds them out for Lori to take.

Lori looks at the one hundred dollars for a moment and then slowly, she takes the bills from her, slowly as if she's almost afraid of them. "Sure, sweetie. And… and Daryl will get what this means?"

"Oh, he'll get it," Beth says firmly. "And no matter what you do, don't let him give it back. He's going to take it and he's going to keep it and you can tell him we're even."

With that done, Beth feels instantly better and with a smile to herself, she plops down back in her seat and pops her sucker back into her mouth.

…

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 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to leave me a review!**


	5. The Show Goes On

**This chapter really focuses on Daryl and his thoughts but I've already begun work on the next chapter and there will be plenty of Daryl and Beth interaction in that one.**

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…

 **Chapter Five.**

When Lori gets back home and hands Daryl the twenty dollar bills, telling him that the money's from Doc, he's not exactly surprised. He's been expecting her to do something like this and he almost smirks as he takes the money from Lori and slips it into his pocket. Lori lingers, clearly expecting him to protest or force the money back into her hand, but he just says a thanks to her and picks up his cards again.

That Doc Greene has got to be one of the most stubborn people he's ever met and instead of pissing him off, it's really just amusing the hell out of him. She won't charge him for vet visits but she expects him to charge her for fixing something that took him all of ten minutes. She makes absolutely no sense and he's never been interested in complicated girls. He likes the straight forward girls. Amy was like that since the first day he met her. What he saw with Amy was exactly what he got. Of course, she did prove that she _did_ keep things from him and all wasn't what met the eye with her, but when they first met, he fell for Amy's bluntness. With Amy, he never had any questions.

But with Beth, the Doc, Daryl feels like he's got nothing but questions.

She confuses the hell out of him and he, for one, doesn't really like it. He's not the kind of guy who likes when a girl spins his head around. He has some buddies who love complicated girls. The more complicated, the better, and more than one have stated that they love the crazy girls. He doesn't think the Doc is one of those crazy girls but she's definitely not simple, either.

And he's not even thinking about the way she had cried in her kitchen that morning. There isn't one part of him who blames her for just crying. Girl lost both of her parents, she's running her old man's animal practice on her own and now, she's also in charge of the big Greene farm all on her own. He can imagine it'd be pretty damn overwhelming for anyone. He doesn't want to admit it – and will _never_ admit it to anyone – but he feels a little sorry for her. It's a hell of a lot for one person to handle.

After losing and winning some hands against Rick and Shane, Daryl heads out. It's not that late – just a little after eight – but he's always been the kind to go to bed early and wake up early. He makes the short drive back to his mom's house because even though Paulie Dixon lives on the other side of town, the town is small enough where it doesn't take that long getting anywhere. Not that there's any "new" part to their town – a new house hasn't been built in years since the population has stayed steady for just as long – but the Grimes live in the newer part; the part that had been built when the nearby cardboard factory began growing and making more hires and the little town went through something of a boom.

After her asshole husband split town for the last time and came up dead, Paulie Dixon has done alright for herself considering she wasn't left with much. She got a job and raised her sons as well as she could even when she was working all hours at the Oak Tree Diner. She rented them a little house in the old, more run-down, part of town and once Merle and Daryl were old enough to work, they helped her with bills and eventually, she was able to stop renting and she made an offer to the landlord to buy that little house.

It's not an ideal neighborhood and Daryl knows what people think when they see it. Typical white-trash poor Southern neighborhood with its run-down houses and trashed yards but it's not like their town has a crime wave – most of the crime having to do with drugs or domestic disputes – so it's safe enough. Daryl knows he's not going to be staying with his mom forever. He just has no idea where to go. He and Amy had moved into her grandmother's house that she had left to both Amy and Andrea once she passed away but Andrea already had her own place and didn't want it so he and Amy had bought her out. Andrea had told them that that wasn't necessary but Daryl had been the one to insist. Fair's fair, he had told her.

There's not a lot of options for him. Merle's got his own place. Sort of. He rents a trailer from Joe that's set up behind the bar but Merle's always got people coming in and out, girls staying over, and Daryl likes his peace and quiet too much to stay with his older brother. His friend, Shane, has an apartment above his garage and Daryl is considering that ever since Shane made the offer to him but warned him that there is a lot of work – and mice – that he'd have to do to make the place livable. Daryl's never been afraid of hard work – that's for sure – but maybe he's setting his sights too high in hoping for a place rather than a one-room apartment over his buddy's garage.

Maybe he'll just build himself a house. And he almost smirks with amusement at the idea as he pulls his truck into the driveway. Sure. Just build a house. Easy as that.

He unlocks the front door with his key and he expects Louis to be right there, jumping around and greeting him and demanding attention, but instead, he doesn't get up from the couch where he's curled up with Paulie, both of them moving their eyes away from the television to look at him.

"What's this?" Daryl asks with an amused pull of his lips as he sets his toolbox down on the floor of the hall closet. "You kidnappin' my dog 'way from me?"

"He's keepin' me warm and he wants to see how this Lifetime movie ends," Paulie answers, her eyes going back to the television.

Daryl comes into the living room, sinking himself down into the recliner chair. Louis looks at him and thumps his tail on the couch cushion but he still doesn't get up. Daryl's eyes float towards the television, too, and watches the movie for a few minutes. Some crazy assistant trying to kill her boss's entire family. Pretty standard Lifetime movie from the looks of it.

"Amy and Randall came into the diner tonight," Paulie says, muting the television during a commercial break.

Daryl doesn't say anything. He just keeps watching the television and the muted commercial for a cordless vacuum cleaner. This isn't really a conversation he ever wants to have. But his silence has never stopped his mom from talking. If anything, she's used to her youngest son being practically a mute.

"I just don't know what she sees in him," Paulie continues as Daryl knew she would. "He's young, isn' he?" She asks.

Daryl shrugs again. Why the hell would he know how old Randall is? Younger than him, that's all he knows. "Amy's young, too," he grunts and looks to the clock on the wall.

He should get himself to bed. Him and T-Dog have another full day tomorrow, beginning work on remodeling the basement of the Ramirez family house so their two little kids have more of a play room. And he really doesn't want to keep hearing about Amy. It's hard enough living in a little town like this where everyone knows practically everyone else's business. And having your girlfriend cheat on you in a little town where everyone finds out isn't ideal either. Everyone is either looking at him like they feel sorry for him or like he's a loser.

"Not _that_ young where she shouldn' be able to know when she's got a good thing," Paulie frowns and the movie has come back on. She un-mutes the television once more.

Daryl stands up and then leans over. "Night, ma," he says and kisses her cheek before heading out of the living room, down the hallway, and he hears Louis jump down from the couch and follow after him.

After brushing his teeth, he goes into his bedroom and closes the door. Louis has already jumped up on the bed and Daryl gets himself changed, tugging on a pair of sweatpants and a tee-shirt, and he makes sure he tucks the Doc's money safely into his wallet, which he leaves on top of the dresser. He has to think of a way to get it back to her. Maybe when Louis has his follow-up appointment with her in a few more days. One thing's for sure. He's not keeping it. Getting mud out of her well pipes was a lot easier than pulling porcupine needles from a dog's snout and he can't believe that she hasn't charged him for that yet.

With the lights off, he climbs onto the bed – on top of the covers – and turns his head on the pillow, looking out the window, listening to the bug zapper in the backyard. Louis moves himself closer to him and rests his head on Daryl's stomach and Daryl scratches the dog behind one of his floppy ears.

"Where we gonna go from here, boy?" Daryl hears himself asking the dog quietly.

There's some empty lots up and down his mom's street. Around town, too. Maybe… maybe building himself a house isn't actually as far-fetched as he first thought. He knows that if anyone could build a house, it'd be him. Maybe he should look into it. He loves his mom but that doesn't mean he wants to live with her forever.

He's a grown man. Time to be a grown man, get over his girlfriend breaking up with him and move the hell on.

…

The diner has its usual morning crowd. Guys heading out to their shift and guys just getting off of their third shift at the factory. Daryl and T-Dog stop at the diner for breakfast a couple of times a week before heading out to their job for the day and this morning, they sit at the counter, both with a heaping plate of pecan pancakes and sausage links. Every few minutes, Daryl will look out the front window to see Louis in the pickup truck, waiting for them. Daryl's already set aside a couple sausage links to take out to him when they're done eating.

He turns his head to look out the window and this time, he sees Louis no longer looking at him but rather, he's looking at someone coming, his tongue hanging out as if he's grinning and his tail is wagging so fiercely, it's shaking his entire body. Daryl thinks it's probably Merle or maybe Rick coming but instead, he sees Doc appear.

She's smiling and walking up to the truck, petting Louis and rubbing him behind his ears and laughing as the dog licks her face in greeting. He watches as she reaches into her purse and pulls out a Milkbone dog biscuit, holding it up for Louis to see and the dog obediently sits. She smiles as she gives it to him and he chomps on it eagerly. Daryl wonders if she always walks around with dog treats in her purse.

He wonders what she's doing here this early. The diner has their regulars in the morning and she isn't one of them. Daryl admits that he can't seem to stop watching her – even when T-Dog turns his head to see what has his attention and seeing for himself, he looks back to Daryl and gives him a wide, amused grin. Daryl does his best to ignore him and forces himself to lower his eyes to his plate. Just one more pancake to eat and he'll have another cup of coffee and then he and T get going to start their work for the day.

He's going to focus on breakfast and then he's going to think about the plans he's drawn up for the Ramirez basement. He's _not_ going to think about the dress the Doc is wearing that morning with flowers printed all over it and the way it skims her thighs as she moves.

He can't help but think of Amy then. No matter how hard he tries to stop thinking about her, it's like his brain refuses to give her up. Daryl supposes he can't blame his brain for that. He and Amy were together for a couple of years and he had thought he was going to marry that girl.

Amy had hardly worn dresses. She is a receptionist in a dentist's office and even as a receptionist, she had worn comfortable scrubs every day. Amy prefers jeans. The tighter, the better as far as Amy's concerned. Daryl never knew how she sat down when wearing a pair or how she even got them on in the first place. She had looked hot in them though. That could never be denied. And when she wore a pair of her tight jeans, Daryl loved taking her for rides on his bike, feeling her pressed tightly against him. He always felt so damn proud to have that girl behind him, riding his bike with him.

He wonders how the Doc would be on a motorcycle. He couldn't really picture her on one, to be honest. She just gives off that goody-two shoes vibe that she probably thinks bikes are too dangerous and she'd be too scared to ever ride one.

Beth enters the diner then and Daryl lifts his eyes, looking to her again, and for a second, their eyes meet. They look at one another – but only for a second – before Beth turns her head away. She's looking for someone and she finds them. Daryl watches as she walks up to Paulie, where his mom is at a table, pouring cups of coffee for some guys. Paulie smiles widely when she sees the Doc and Beth says something to her that Daryl can't hear. Whatever it is, Paulie nods and Beth says something else.

"Of course, honey," Paulie says, back to smiling, and Beth visibly exhales as if she had been nervous talking with Paulie about whatever she had to talk with her about. Daryl wonders what those two are talking about.

The door opens again and Daryl stiffens immediately. He swears that the entire diner goes absolutely silent as Amy and Randall practically fall into the diner, holding onto one another as if they need help to stand, and they are laughing – too loud and too annoying for that early in the morning. It's obvious they haven't gone to bed yet and are just getting back from their night out. Is Amy going to work this morning?

Daryl doesn't hear anything except them laughing and then he swears he can feel everyone's eyes in the place looking at him. He keeps his back to them. They're so damn loud, he can hear them going to an empty booth in the back corner of the diner and they both seem completely unaware that Daryl is in there, too, even though the diner isn't _that_ big and Daryl can't believe Amy doesn't know. Or maybe she does see him and just doesn't care. Why should she? He's the ex-boyfriend and Daryl bets she and Randall laugh about him, making him the butt of their jokes. How long were they sneaking around together behind Daryl's back? Amy never really gave him a straight forward answer to that.

Clenching his jaw, not able to be in there anymore, listening to them as they laugh together and feeling everyone looking at him, waiting for a reaction, Daryl stands up. He throws a few bills on the counter next to his empty plate and walks out of the diner without a word or look to anyone. On the sidewalk, he got to the truck and Louis barks happily when he sees Daryl with a napkin in his hand and can smell the treat he has brought him. Daryl almost smiles when he gives Louis the two sausage links and the dog gobbles them up.

"I'm ready," T-Dog announces as he steps from the diner less than a minute later.

Daryl nods and giving Louis one last head rub, he opens the driver's door and climbs into the truck, behind the wheel, as T-Dog walks around the front and gets in on the other side.

"Those two smell like they went swimming in a damn lake of bourbon," T-Dog frowns. "How can I expect to eat my pancakes while smelling that?

Daryl appreciates the man's loyalty.

He shrugs. "None of my business," he mutters as he pulls away from the curb and starts heading towards the Ramirez house, down on one of the quiet residential streets that shoot off from the main road running through town.

"Don't see how that girl's gonna hold onto her job if she keeps that up," T-Dog continues.

Daryl doesn't say anything because he's been thinking the same thing. Partying all night with Randall, showing up still drunk at the diner. Yeah, Amy has always been a little wild – has always liked to go out and have a good time – but nothing like that. He can't help but frown a little. Is that who she's always been and when she was with him, she hid it and made sure he didn't know the real her? Maybe she's always been the girl who parties all night and he's never known because she didn't want him to know the real her.

Daryl pulls a cigarette from the pack next to him and stopped at a stop sign, he takes a moment to light it, exhaling the smoke out his open window. He doesn't want to think about any of this. Amy and Randall, his mom and moving out into his own place, Doc… he's giving himself a headache. All he wants to think about right now is remodeling the Ramirez basement and what he and T are going to eat for lunch.

…

Sunday after breakfast, his mom pushes him outside, "to get out of her hair", as she says, and Daryl decides it's time he clean out her garage for her – not that there's much in there. A lawnmower and leaf blower he bought at a consignment shop for her years earlier and he uses to do her yard work for her. A shovel, a rake, some hedge clippers. There's a small workbench against one wall and Daryl goes there now, figuring that he'll kill some time, going through his old tools that he's left here over the years. He's honestly surprised that Merle hasn't come and pawned all of these.

Louis is sniffing at corners, hunting a possible mouse who lives in there, but when a familiar pickup truck pulls into the driveway, he lifts his head and lets out an excited bark. Daryl turns, unable to keep from frowning. Who would be coming here on a Sunday morning? And he doesn't know why but he's not exactly surprised when Doc steps out. He watches as she laughs and greets Louis and the dog eagerly greets her in return.

Daryl steps out of the garage and looks at her. She's wearing a dress, clearly not having changed since the church service she went to that morning.

"What are you doin' here?" He asks, stepping out of the garage, looking at her.

"Well, good morning to you, too, Mr. Dixon," Beth says with a roll of her eyes.

Daryl feels the back of his neck flush and he almost apologizes but stops himself before he can. She still hasn't answered the question and Louis doesn't need her to be making house calls – especially when Daryl knows she won't charge for those either.

"Your mom said she's going to teach me how to make coconut cake and today's the best day for her to," Beth explains and she then walks around the front of her truck, opening the passenger door with a slight squeak. She needs to lubricate those hinges.

"Why you wanna learn how to bake coconut cake?" He can't help but wonder, taking a couple of steps closer to her. "Just woke up and felt like learnin'?"

"No," Beth answers. She slams the door shut and there's a cardboard box in her arms now. She looks at him. "Today's my daddy's birthday and he loves… _loved_ your mom's coconut cake. I want to bake it for him today."

Daryl has no idea what to say to that. He wasn't expecting her to say something like that. He hadn't known today was her dad's birthday and he feels like that's something he should have already known. And deep down, he feels like a jackass for questioning what she's doing there. She can come over anytime she wants. To see his mom. Of course his mom.

Still not saying anything, he reaches out and takes the box from her arms into his. Glancing down, he sees that she's brought her own baking supplies, including eggs. He almost smirks. He can just imagine how his mom will react to Beth bringing her own stuff. Knowing Paulie, she might actually be a little insulted.

"Thanks," Beth says softly and they begin to walk up the driveway towards the front door, Louis happily trotting beside Beth, hitting her palm with his snout so she'll pet him.

"Happy birthday to your dad," Daryl then says, finally able to think of something to say.

And the smile Beth gives up at him for that, he knows it was the right thing to say.

…

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 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to leave a review**


	6. Easy Bake

**Thank you so much to those who are supporting this story by taking the time to read and review. Slow day at work for me so I was able to write this chapter and I already can't wait to get started on the next one. Merle and Rick will both be in the next chapter as will a talk between Daryl and Amy.**

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…

 **Chapter Six.**

How hard can it be to bake a coconut cake, she had naïvely thought to herself. Well, it's pretty darn hard, apparently, and she's quickly learning that. She should have known. Anything that tastes as decadent as Paulie's coconut cake must be impossible to make but this whole week leading up to her daddy's birthday hasn't been a good one. Her first one without him and she had wanted to do something that would remind her of him; as if she needs any more reminders; as if she doesn't get enough of those every single day.

The idea of baking a coconut cake – _Paulie's_ coconut cake – came to her in the middle of the night and as soon as she got herself dressed the next morning, she went to go talk with her. Paulie had been more than happy to teach her and now, when she follows Daryl into the kitchen, Paulie's there and pulls her into a tight hug.

"Happy Birthday to your daddy," Paulie says once they break apart and Beth feels tears stinging her eyes but she smiles nonetheless. Paulie hugs her again. "And we're goin' to be makin' dinner in honor of Hershel tonight, too,"

"Oh," Beth is quick to say and shake her head. "You don't have to do that, Paulie. Teaching me how to bake this cake will be more than enough."

"Nope," Paulie argued. "You shouldn' be alone on this day so you can lose yourself to sad thoughts. Hershel always liked the chicken and dumplin' special at the diner, I remember, so I talked with Dale and he gave me the recipe. We're gonna be makin' that for your daddy today, too."

Beth feels more tears flood her eyes before she can stop them and she steps forward, hugging Paulie again. It feels good to be hugged. Besides hugs from Rosita and Lori, it feels like it's been so long since the last time she was hugged by anyone.

She knew today would be hard but she hasn't been expecting it to be _this_ hard. Maggie called her bright and early that morning before she left for church service and the two sisters began crying almost immediately even as they both reminded the other that daddy wouldn't want them bawling their eyes out over him. Shawn hasn't called yet but Beth's not expecting him to. Shawn tends to lose track of days and probably has completely forgotten that today is their dad's birthday.

Behind them, she has almost forgotten that Daryl is in the kitchen, too, until she hears him set her box of baking supplies down on the kitchen table.

"You need anythin' else?" He asked then in that gruff voice of his and Beth kept her head turned away from him as she wiped at her damp cheeks. She doesn't quite know why but she's embarrassed to be crying in front of him. This is the second time he's seen her crying and that's two too many times.

"We're good, Daryl. Get yourself back outside," Paulie answers her son and a moment later, Beth hears the front door open and close once again.

She feels a cold nose on her thigh and she looks down in surprise. Louis has stayed in the kitchen with them instead of going back outside with Daryl. And he hasn't called the dog to come with him. Beth knows that Daryl and Louis are practically inseparable but maybe, both dog and man know right now that Beth needs the dog, too. She smiles a little now, through watery eyes, and she rubs a hand behind Louis's ear as Paulie goes to the table and looks through the box that she brought with her.

She's not entirely surprised when Paulie begins reaching into the box and taking the butter and eggs Beth has brought with her, the woman turns and puts them into the refrigerator before taking out her own eggs and butter. And Beth would argue with her but she knows Paulie Dixon well enough to know that no one really stands a chance when it comes to arguing with Paulie Dixon. She's a strong woman with a mind of her own and her being any other way is almost impossible to even imagine.

Beth never knew Will Dixon. She was still just a toddler when the man left the family and was found a couple of months later, nearly clear across the country. But she's certainly heard things about him. Small towns like this always remember bad seeds like that man. He was an awful man and he was terrible to his wife and two sons and that is still putting mildly as to the kind of man he was. Paulie walks with a permanent limp and has a small scar above her left eyebrow and Beth knows that both are souvenirs left over from her husband. She wonders if Daryl has his own scars.

Not that it's any of her business whether he does or not and it never will be her business. She saw the way he had looked when Amy, with her new boyfriend, had come into the diner a couple of mornings before. Daryl still loves her. It was clear as day on his face. And either two things will happen. Either Daryl will always love her and never move on from her or Amy will realize her mistake and go back to Daryl. Beth can't see the possibility of something else happening besides those two options. So thinking about Daryl in any capacity is just a waste of time, in Beth's opinion. She just wishes her brain agreed with her.

"Alright," Paulie says, setting the butter down on the counter to soften a bit before they begin. There is a metal recipe box on the counter and Paulie takes it, sitting down at the table, and Beth follows her lead, sitting down beside her. Louis instantly sits at her side, not wanting her hand to stop its affection. Paulie flips the lid of the box and Beth sees it home to so many index cards, it will probably be difficult to add another one. "Did your mom ever bake with you?" Paulie then asks her.

Beth shakes her head. "Rice Krispie treats. And she could make this amazing peach pie. But I never stayed in the kitchen with her to learn. I thought…" her words clump in her throat.

 _I thought I had more time_ , she finishes silently to herself.

And Paulie seems to know exactly what she's thinking because she reaches over and pats her hand and Beth exhales a shaky breath. She manages to give the woman a small smile. She knew today would not be good but she hadn't expected to be quite _this_ emotional over everything. Not just over her daddy but her mom, too, and she wonders if it will be like this every year on one of their birthdays no matter how many years have passed.

"God gifted me with two sons who can't give a hoot 'bout bakin' so this box is all me," Paulie smiles and she pushes it closer to Beth. "Want a look?" She then offers; an offer Beth isn't going to turn down as she eagerly pulls the recipe box in front of her.

The cards are alphabetized. Almond cookies… Blackout Chocolate Cheesecake… no less than fifteen cards with chocolate as the first word… She pulls out the index card with Coconut Cake labeled across the top.

"Did you try to teach Amy?" Beth couldn't help but ask.

And Paulie smirks at that – Beth sees immediately where Daryl got his smirk from – and she shakes her head. "That girl didn' care much 'bout things like this. Or anythin' for that matter," Paulie says and it's obvious the woman wants to say more but she purses her lips together to prevent herself from doing so. She stands up and goes to the counter and Beth stands up as well, looking over the index card, the recipe handwritten in Paulie's cursive.

"I don't know how to separate egg whites," Beth says then, already feeling slightly panicked as she reads over the recipe that is so long, it continues onto the back of the index card.

What had she been expecting? She doesn't know how to bake and she knows that Paulie doesn't use cake mix boxes. Everything is from scratch and she almost begins panicking before she's able to reign herself in. She can do this. She thinks of everything she has been able to accomplish – or somewhat accomplish – in the past few months and after today, she will be able to add "make coconut cake from scratch" into the accomplishment column.

"Don't worry, honey," Paulie says with a warm hand on her back. "I'll show you everythin'."

And she does.

…

Paulie doesn't have an electric mixer and likes to stir everything by hand with spoons.

"It's how my mama and grandmamma did it, so it's good enough for me, too," Paulie had explained before handing the wooden spoon to Beth.

And now Beth stands at the counter, mixing the butter, sugar, egg whites and all of the teaspoons of extract together as best as she can. She wonders how long she's been stirring because her arm is burning and she's a doctor so she knows it's not possible but her arm really does feel like it's going to fall off. But she wonders if stirring everything by hand is why Paulie makes the best cakes of anyone in their town.

Beth looks to the clock on the microwave and sees that it's just a little after noon. Louis is still in the kitchen with her, lying down at her side on the floor like a loyal companion, and Paulie has excused herself for the moment, having gone outside in the backyard to water her tomato and green bean plants that she waters twice a day in the vegetable garden that Daryl has built for her, surrounding with chicken wire. Beth can see her through the window over the sink.

Beth lowers her eyes to the bowl. Paulie had told her that the mixture will look curdled and not to be concerned and Beth is grateful the woman warned her of this beforehand. She keeps stirring and wonders how this will turn out to be the coconut cake that her daddy loved so much because right now, it looks like a science experiment gone horribly wrong.

Louis lifts his head a second before the front door opens and even though she knows who it is, she turns her head and looks over her shoulder to see Daryl coming into the house. She wishes her stomach would stop with this constant clenching. _It's not going to happen, Beth_ , and she has lost count of how many times she has told herself that. Daryl's still obviously in love with his ex-girlfriend and Beth is just too busy for any type of relationship in her life. She knows that so why the heck can't her stomach seem to get on the same page?

"Hey," he grunts, stepping into the kitchen, and Beth refuses to look at his arm muscles.

"You need to buy your mom an electric mixer," Beth says without matching his greeting.

Louis has gotten up and is in front of Daryl with his tail wagging and Daryl gives him a quick rub behind both his ears.

Daryl smirks at that and then straightens, going to the cabinet – right by her head – and she moves it to the side as his arm reaches past her and opening the door, he pulls down a glass. She ignores his body standing so closely behind hers and his arm so close to her face. And most of all, she ignores the clenching in her stomach; clenching so tightly, it's almost painful. She stares down at the cake mix as she keeps stirring.

"Tried that already for Christmas," Daryl says as he takes the glass and fills it with water from the sink tap. "She donated it to the church garage sale in the spring."

Beth feels her lips turning upwards at that because that definitely sounds like Paulie.

She pauses in her stirring and tilts the bowl towards Daryl for him to see. "Does it look normal?" She asks him, figuring he's seen his mom bake this cake enough times.

Daryl smirks again and he leans back against the counter behind him, giving a nod and then taking a sip of his water. "Looks the way 's supposed to," he says once he's swallowed.

She's not going to lie and say she's not relieved by his answer.

"You hungry?" Daryl asks and before she can answer, he goes and opens the refrigerator, looking at what's on the shelves for a moment before pulling out a bowl with saran wrap across the top of it. "You like tuna? Ma just made some yesterday."

Beth is proud of herself for being able to smile and nod like a normal human being. "That sounds really good. Thank you."

She goes back to stirring and watches him from the corner of her eye as Daryl takes out a loaf of white Wonder bread and pulls out four slices. He pops each slice into the toaster and then reaches into another cabinet, pulling down two plates, and he makes them tuna salad sandwiches. Beth lowers her head to the bowl, hoping she's hiding her smile from him. She can't remember the last time someone took the time to make her a sandwich.

"You should prob'ly stop stirrin'," Daryl says suddenly, almost startling her. "Still got the dry stuff to add."

Beth pauses the spoon and reads the next step written on the index card. "Right," she agrees and gratefully leaves the spoon propped in the bowl and she shakes her hand out.

"Lunch," he then says and she hasn't realized how hungry she is until he's holding the plate out towards her and she can see the tuna salad sandwich. "Want somethin' to drink?"

"I'm alright, thanks," she answers with a small smile directed towards him.

But, as if he doesn't believe her, Daryl goes and collects another glass and fills it with tap water, setting it down on the table. He then plops himself into a chair – a chair that must be his usual spot and the chair Beth had been sitting in earlier – and Beth lowers herself into the chair across from him where he had placed the glass of water.

"Thank you for making lunch," she says before taking a bite of the sandwich. She wonders if there are napkins somewhere in here.

Daryl shrugs. He takes an almost-too big bite of his sandwich, the toast crunching and a couple bits of tuna plopping onto the plate, and he chews as he stands up. She watches as he rips off two paper towels from the roll on the counter.

"I jus' toasted bread. Pretty sure even Louis could do that," Daryl says as he sets one of the paper towels down in front of her and plops down back in his chair.

Beth wants to tell him thank you again but she doesn't and she takes her next bite – much smaller than the one he took. She wants to talk with him but she's not too sure what to say. For one of the first times in her life, she feels herself becoming shy around a person. And she wants to yell at herself for that because there's absolutely no reason for her to be. Not around Daryl. He may not have a girlfriend but he's off the market anyway and she could strip down naked in front of him right now and he still wouldn't think she was flirting or sending him signals. She's not Amy and Beth imagines he's blind to every girl who's not.

"Do you take him hunting with you?" Beth asks, wanting to break the silence with _anything_.

Daryl looks down at the dog in question as Louis sits at his side, panting and begging for a bite of tuna. He takes the little amount of tuna that had fallen from his sandwich onto his plate and drops it onto the floor for Louis to gobble up and then looks to Beth as if he's expecting her to say something about giving his dog people food. She doesn't though.

He nods his head once. "Yeah. Last fall was his first time out there and I wound up almos' killin' Merle. Idiot fired his gun without me finishin' trainin' Louis properly." He looks from the dog to Beth and she must be looking a little confused because his lips twitch. "You fire a gun off 'round a huntin' dog who's never been huntin' 'fore, you'll scare the shit out of 'im. Sometimes, dogs can't come back from that."

"But he's a good hunting dog now?" She asks.

"He's the best," Daryl says and she smiles because she hears the pride clear in his voice.

She wishes she knew what she could talk with him besides Louis. Louis is what they have in common. He has a dog and she's a vet. That's their one – and only – connection to one another. And she hates that she can't think of another thing they could possibly have together. She can't help but wonder what he and Amy used to talk about with one another. From what little she has seen of Amy, Beth can't imagine Daryl having anything in common with her. But why is she expecting him to have anything in common with her?

"What are you doing out in the garage?" Beth asks because she has to ask him something because she doesn't want to stop talking with him and hearing his voice.

This man's voice is unlike anything she's ever heard. Rough like gravel and yet, so gentle and soft at the same time. She's never heard anything like it before and there's a part of her who can't seem to get enough of it.

He has just taken a bite of his sandwich and he waits until he chews and swallows before answering her. "Jus' cleanin' some stuff out," he says and that's all he says but it's alright in Beth's opinion because at least he actually answered.

She hasn't even realized that she's finished her sandwich until Daryl pops the last bite of his own sandwich into his mouth and then stands up, chewing, and takes both of their plates to the sink. Beth stands up, smoothing her skirt down her thighs.

"Thank you, Daryl," she says again and he nods, still chewing. She takes a deep breath. "Do you know the movies they show on Friday nights in the Commons when it's warm out?" She asks though it's not really a question because everyone knows about that. "Well, this coming Friday, they're showing _Jurassic Park_ and it's one of my favorites and I was wondering if you'd like to come watch it with me."

She's not sure why she's asked him and not sure where the courage to ask even came from but there she is and she's just stepped to the ledge and asked him. Not like a date though and she hopes that's not how he's interpreting it. She just wants to spend time with him. Surely, there's nothing wrong with that. Is there? He's still in love with his ex-girlfriend and Beth knows that won't change anytime soon. She's not expecting it to. She just looks at Daryl and she wouldn't mind having something more but she looks at Daryl and she wants something with him. A friend. Companion. Someone to watch _Jurassic Park_ with her.

"My best friend, Rosita, will be there, too. We make food and she brings wine and we just watch the movie and have fun," Beth continues because he's saying absolutely nothing. He's not even looking at her. He's looking at something past her; a spot on the wall so he doesn't _have_ to look at her. Beth feels her face instantly flush burning red.

Oh, god. Rejected. He's trying to think of a way to let her down. And she knows that no matter how he words it as he lets her down, she definitely doesn't want to hear it.

"Never mind," she is quick to say and she turns, going back to the counter, picking up Paulie's index card though she can't really focus on the words right now. She hears a whirring in her ears as if she's falling down a great distance at such a great speed and all she can hear is wind. Where the heck is Paulie? How long does it take to water vegetables?

She still doesn't hear Daryl say anything and she almost turns around to explain herself; that she just thought he might enjoy seeing the movie and just hanging out. As friends. They can be just friends. In fact, she knows that they'll be nothing more than that; if even that.

But just as she opens her mouth and begins to turn around, she hears the front door open and close and she looks to see that Daryl has gone back outside, leaving her in the kitchen with just Louis once again.

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review!**


	7. Comparing the Two

**You guys are awesome. That's all I can say. That and thank you! If you watch _Ride with Norman Reedus_ , the way he looks in that show is how I imagine Daryl in this story. Also, Beth's look inspiration is from _Conviction_. Thank you! Hope you like this one!**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Seven.**

He knows he shouldn't go over. Nothing good can come from him going over there but Amy calls and like an alcoholic who's trying to get sober but just got a drop of whiskey on his tongue again, he goes. Amy calls and he goes. He knows how pathetic he is and the names Merle would be calling him if his older brother was to find out but Daryl doesn't care. Not now, because Amy called _him_. She has Randall and she still called him. And Daryl knows it's because Randall doesn't know how to do anything around a house but that doesn't matter because Amy could have called anyone else but she still thinks of him.

Daryl tells himself to stop before he stupidly gets his hopes up. It's not like Amy's calling him because she wants to get back together.

Daryl parks the truck in front of the house and he does a quick scan of the driveway and the open garage door but he can't see any hints that Randall is there right now, too. He gets out and goes around to get his toolbox from the bed. Louis is there, looking up at the house, but his tongue isn't hanging out and he's not wagging his tail. Instead, he gives Daryl a look that seems to ask what the hell they're doing there. Daryl suspects that Louis hasn't forgotten that Amy hadn't wanted him.

"Come on," Daryl says, bringing down the back hatch so the dog can jump down but Louis doesn't move. For once, he seems quite content to stay in the truck bed instead of running around with his seemingly endless energy. Daryl tries not to sigh. "Louis. Come," he says in a firmer tone, reminding them both who's boss.

The dog reluctantly jumps down from the truck but his ears are flat against his head and Daryl doesn't make him come with him as he heads up the walkway and front steps, crossing the front porch and he knocks on the front door. He had lived here for a year of his life and even before that, he had never knocked. Daryl knows it shouldn't be his concern in the least but he wonders how Amy's going to handle the bills that come with owning a house. She makes alright money at the dentist's office but his job had always brought in more and he had taken it upon himself to pay the bills. He had liked having someone he could take care of and Amy had never argued about it.

He looks over his shoulder, seeing Louis sitting on the curb, looking up at him, and Daryl tries to give the dog a smile; show him that it's alright to be here and he feels slightly stupid for trying to reassure a dog though honestly, he likes that Louis seems so concerned about him. He hears footsteps and the turning of a lock and Daryl turns back to look forward, watching as the door pulls open. And there she is.

Even after everything she did to him, Amy Harris still makes him stomach clench like he's some damn idiot kid with his first crush. He's really glad Merle isn't here to see him because Daryl kinds of wants to punch himself in his own damn face.

She's wearing a pair of those skin-tight jeans she loves so much and a button down shirt that she has the ends tied up so it shows off her stomach and bellybutton. Daryl refuses to look at her bellybutton ring. He had never really liked it but Amy had always wanted one and he admits that when she showed it to him that night when he got home from work, saying that she had gotten it during her lunch break, he didn't hate it that much either.

"Wha's goin' on?" He asks her as she opens the screen door and he steps inside.

"It's that stupid toilet again," Amy frowns.

Daryl does his best to not look around. Amy has never been the cleanest of people and has a tendency to just let things lie where they fall. Daryl has always been the more anal of the two and likes everything in its place. He can't imagine Randall being a clean freak, too. He doesn't have to look to imagine the mess the house has become.

Daryl follows her up the stairs to the second floor bathroom and he does his best to not look but Amy's ass is right in front of him and he looks at the shooting star tattoo at the base of her spine. He wonders if Randall has any tattoos because Amy had always seemed to love his – always kissing them and tracing them with the tip of her index finger and she had always asked him if he was getting another though he thinks he has enough.

Without looking at the toilet first, he stops at the hall closet and takes the bucket and plunger he's always kept on the floor and sure enough, they're still there.

"You flushin' Kleenex down there 'gain?" He asks her as they step into the small bathroom and he's aware of how close they're standing together but he does his best to ignore it. She smells like flowers as she always does but cigarette smoke, too, and he tries to focus on that. The smoke won't distract him like the flowers.

And then, oddly enough, the Doc pops into his head right then. She smells like sugar cookies. Even in the exam room, that smells like animals and antiseptic cleaning supplies, she still manages to smell like sugar cookies and he doesn't know how she manages it. Daryl would gladly rather smell sugar cookies right now more than anything else.

"Just a few," Amy says.

Daryl can't help but sigh. "Told you how many times not to do that? Kleenex don't dissolve like toilet paper and eventually, they get all clogged up in there."

"Well, I use Kleenex when I put on my make-up, Daryl. You know that," she says and she's frowning at him because if she hates one thing, it's being told what to do.

"And the trashcan is right there," he says with a finger pointed to the trashcan on the floor between the sink and toilet. "No reason why you need to be wastin' all those gallons of water. Your toilet wouldn' clog so much if you'd just use the trashcan."

Amy doesn't say anything to that. She just keep frowning at him and crosses her arms over her chest. "Are you going to fix it or did you come over just to lecture me? That was always one of your problems, Daryl. Always acting like my dad instead of a boyfriend."

Daryl doesn't say anything. He flushes the toilet to see what it's doing – the water rising instead of flushing down and when it does go down, it does so very slowly. He uses the plunger at first and he's actually grateful that he has a problem to fix. And even though it's just unclogging a toilet and he can does this without much thought to it, he puts all of his focus onto this rather than Amy next to him, well aware of her eyes watching him. He's also grateful where his hair's long enough to hang in his face and he can't see her clearly.

He turns towards the bathtub and fills the bucket of water before turning and flushing the toilet once again, watching the water rise and then slowly drain. And when the toilet bowl's almost completely empty, he dumps the water in. He does this again and again, adding the force of the extra water to push whatever's clogging the pipe out of the way. Finally, after nearly ten minutes of filling the bucket, dumping the bucket and flushing, the toilet water is flushing and going down quickly as it's supposed to.

Without a word, Daryl leans into the sink and washes his hands.

"Thanks," Amy says and he nods his head without saying anything as he dries his hands on one of the towels tossed over the bar on the wall. She turns and leaves the bathroom and he leaves the bucket and plunger in there as he leaves the bathroom, too. Let her put them away, he grumbles to himself.

He follows her back downstairs and she goes straight to the front door, opening it again, signaling to him that she doesn't want him to stay longer than he absolutely has to.

"Oh, wait!" But then Amy exclaims before he can leave and he turns to look at her.

She hurries to the living room and Daryl finally looks around though he does his best to keep the frown from his face. It's none of his business. If she wants to get ants with those pizza boxes lying around, that will be her problem. Nothing in this house is his problem anymore. He may have helped Amy pay for half of it when they bought out Andrea but it's not his house anymore and he definitely doesn't live here.

Paulie has already asked him – more than once – if he's going to get Amy to pay him back his share. He honestly hadn't been planning on it and he's still not. Amy hadn't wanted to buy Andrea out and Andrea hadn't wanted them, too, either. It had been his idea. He doesn't think Amy should have to pay him back on something that had been his idea.

"Here," Amy says and comes back to the hallway with some envelopes. "Some of your mail came here. I thought you were doing change of addresses?" She asks.

"I did. It prob'ly is takin' a while to get it processed," he says as he takes the envelopes. Bills and junk mail.

"If you paid bills online like most normal people, you wouldn't have to worry about that," Amy says and he's never understood why it bothers her so much that he has a checkbook and pays his bills the way that has become old-fashioned. He likes doing it that way and his bills are always paid on time.

He nearly says that the Doc has a checkbook, too, and seems to like paying her bills the same way as him but he doesn't. He knows Amy. If he mentions Doc, Amy will pounce and ask him all sorts of questions he won't have the answers to.

"Alright," Amy says. "Thanks for coming."

"Yeah. Pretty easy to fix yourself next time," he says as he pushes open the screen door and steps out onto the porch. Louis is still sitting on the curb in front of the truck and the dog lets his tail wag twice at the sight of him.

He doesn't tell her an amount to pay him and Amy doesn't offer. They both know he usually doesn't charge people for something as easy as pouring water down a toilet. So, he leaves without saying another word to her and before he's even gone down all the porch steps, he hears her close and lock the front door once again. He doesn't look back as he opens the passenger door and sets his toolbox on the floor and Louis jumps up onto the seat. Daryl then walks around the truck and gets in his seat behind the steering wheel. Louis's ears are no longer flat to his head and his tongue is back hanging out of his mouth.

"I think I need a drink," Daryl tells the dog, sighing heavily, and Louis just wags his tail as if he agrees completely.

…

Joe's isn't the nicest bar in town but it's not the crummiest either. Rough types hang out there – Merle and the guys he hangs around with – but Joe keeps everyone and everything in line and he's even fine when Daryl brings Louis in with him – which is anytime Daryl comes in because people in town have already figured out that the man and the dog are pretty much inseparable now.

Daryl never goes there on Saturdays. He doesn't want to run into Amy and he definitely doesn't want to see Randall's shitty band playing and screwing up everyone's ear drums. He doesn't really go to the bar that often because even so many years later, he remembers his old man and what drinking had done to him. He usually goes once a week and that's really only to see Merle and to make sure he's keeping himself out of trouble because if Merle didn't randomly drop by Paulie's house whenever he felt like it, Daryl would hardly ever see his brother otherwise.

Paulie – and pretty much anyone else in town who remembers – has thought about it more than once. Merle, being older, remembers more of their father and took more beatings. It doesn't matter that Will Dixon's been dead and gone for so long now. There are things that stays with a person no matter how much time passes and while Daryl, still with his own nightmares and scars, got the chance of having something more of a normal childhood, Merle never got that and has turned out completely different from his little brother. Daryl went out the front door while Merle wound up going out the back.

As expected, no matter what day Daryl goes to Joe's for a drink, Merle is there.

"Lil' brother!" Merle exclaims when he sees Daryl and Louis come in and he stands up from his stool, throwing his arms around Daryl and hugging him as if they haven't seen one another in months rather than just days. "What the hell you doin' here?" He asks him as he signals to Joe that he needs another beer and Daryl needs one, too.

"Jus' needed a drink," Daryl shrugs. He's not stupid enough to mention seeing Amy to Merle.

He can't help but wonder if Amy would have been happier with the other Dixon brother. Merle is older but he's more loose and fun and likes to party a hell of a lot more than Daryl. Daryl likes being home and staying in at night. He likes watching television or reading a book or being out in the woods. He's not for one going out every night and getting shit-faced. He's never considered doing that to be a good time.

 _That was always one of your problems, Daryl. Always acting like my dad instead of a boyfriend_ , Amy's voice echoes in his head.

There's a karaoke that night – a popular once-a-week event at the bar; more popular than Death by Destruction playing, that's for sure – and once Joe gives Merle and Daryl two bottles of beer, he also hands Daryl a bowl of water for Louis. Daryl bends down to put it on the floor for the dog but something has gotten Louis's attention and the dog hurries off. Daryl turns his head to see where his dog is heading and he sees her. She's sitting at one of the circular tables with her friend, Rosita – the hair stylist – and two guys. There's a pitcher of beer on their table and four glasses and they're all laughing and talking and looking as if they're having the time of their life.

But Daryl really doesn't focus on the other three. He sets his eyes on the Doc and keeps them there. He has an appointment with her in a couple of days – Louis's final checkup until the next time the dog has to go see the vet. And the last time he saw her was a couple of days ago when they ate dinner together – chicken and dumplings and coconut cake though he hadn't said anything during the meal and Paulie and Beth had done all of the talking.

He looks at her now. He tries to keep her from his mind – and he realizes that he has to try at that more times than makes sense to him. He knows she's pretty and smart and successful and she likes him enough to invite him to go see a movie with her but he's already told himself that he's not looking to have anything else with anyone; especially someone who looks so much like Amy and reminds him of his ex every time he looks at her.

But looking at her now, seeing her gasp and smile when she sees Louis coming to her, Daryl knows that there's not really a comparison between the two blonde-haired women.

Beth then lifts her eyes and seems to meet Daryl's eyes immediately. He expects her to stop smiling when she sees him. He expects her to be pissed at him for not wanting to come see _Jurassic Park_ with her. And it's not like he didn't want to see it with her. He just hasn't been on a date forever and even though she said Rosita would be there, too, he still considered it a date and he's just not ready for anything like that yet.

Beth stands up then and says something to the others at her table. Daryl looks at the guy her eyes settle on and he's turned away so Daryl can't see his face but he wonders if Beth's here on a date with him.

With fingers wrapped loosely around Louis's collar, she walks the dog back to the bar where Daryl is, and he slides off his stool as they approach.

"I believe this one is yours," Beth smiles up at him and incredibly enough, Daryl feels his own lips twitch in his version of a smile.

There's something about Doc's smile. Whenever she smiles, the world can't help but give a smile back in return.

"Thanks, Doc," Daryl says and he reaches out, taking Louis's collar, his fingers brushing against hers as she pulls her hand back.

He looks at her for a moment. She's dressed casually and comfortably – wearing tight dark jeans and a striped-shirt that shows a slip of pale skin between the top of the jeans and the bottom of her shirt and there's an over-sized plaid shirt pulled on over that. Her blonde hair is down and he really does like her haircut. He thinks it looks good at her shoulders; not that he wastes time thinking about haircuts since he almost refuses to cut his.

He tries to think of something else to say to her but before he can, she gives him another smile. "Have a good night, Daryl," she says and then turns, heading back to her table and her friends, and possible date, and Daryl's not sure why but there's a hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach now; as if he's just woken up after a too-realistic dream and he feels disappointed when he learns that it's not real. A hollow feeling of loss.

But he knows he has no idea why he would feel _anything_ like that.

He sits there next to Merle and sips his beer and listens with one ear as Merle flirts with Carol, Joe's waitress, on the other side of the bar, serving out drinks. There's applause and the karaoke is starting up again after a break and from the corner of his eye, Daryl sees blonde. He turns and sees that Beth is taking the stage, smiling and giggling as she stands at the microphone stand, her fingers curling around it.

Jazz, big band, music begins to play and Beth begins moving her shoulders up and down to the tempo. And then she begins to sing, smiling the whole time and her body moving to the beat moving through her.

 _"Well, it's a marvelous night for a moondance,_

 _With the stars up above in your eyes._

 _A fantabulous night to make romance,_

 _'neath the cover of October skies._

 _And all the leaves on the trees are falling,_

 _to the sound of the breezes that blow._

 _And I'm trying to please to the calling,_

 _of your heart-strings that play soft and low._

 _And all the night's magic seems to whisper and hush,_

 _and all the soft moonlight seems to shine in your blush._

 _Can I just have one more moondance with you, my love?_

 _Can I just make some more romance with you, my love?"_

She keeps singing and giggling as the crowd cheers for her and Daryl can't take his eyes off of her. The last time Amy had gotten up there to sing karaoke, she had sang "Pour Some Sugar on Me" by Def Leppard.

Daryl thinks he likes this song a hell of a lot more.

…

"What the hell is with you people?" Daryl grumbles as he flushes the Grimes's toilet, watching the water rise up in the bowl rather than go down.

Rick had called him this morning, asking if he can stop by before going with T-Dog to their first job that day. The toilet isn't flushing and Lori's freaking out and Carl really needs to go number two. Unfortunately for most people in town, the houses built here are small and almost all of them boast only one bathroom.

"I tried doing that bucket thing you told me about," Rick said from next to him.

"How long you do it for?" Daryl asks, taking the plunger though he has a feeling he'll have to do what he did with Amy's toilet.

"I don't know," Rick shrugs. "A few minutes. It wasn't working."

"Got to keep doin' it longer than that, Sherriff," Daryl says with a smirk and shake of his head. "At least you 'tempted it. I was over at Amy's, fixin' hers, and I know that she doesn't even know what a plunger is."

He turns to the tub and starts filling the bucket.

After a moment of silence, Rick speaks. "Why the hell were you over at Amy's?" He asks and Daryl looks at his best friend to see the man frowning heavily at him.

Daryl shrugs, flushing and then dumping the water down the toilet. "She called. Needed my help," he says as simply and shortly as he can.

"And you went?" Rick is still frowning, his voice getting a little louder. "Who the fuck cares if she needed help or not?"

Daryl lifts his head and can't help but look at Rick, surprised. Rick never curses in the house where he's got the ears of kids around who can overhear. And if he was the sort of man to curse, he definitely wouldn't curse over something like this.

"Was jus' a clogged toilet," Daryl says, watching the other man closely.

"She has a boyfriend, Daryl. _He_ can fix the toilet from now on," Rick says firmly. "You're never going to get over her if you jump every time she calls."

Daryl's frowning now, too. "This is the first time she's called and I doubt she'll be doin' it 'gain." He turns back towards the tub to refill the bucket. "And maybe I don't wanna get over her," he mutters quietly to himself.

…

* * *

 **Beth sings "Moondance" by Van Morrison.**

 **One of my first experiences as an adult was learning I can't flush my Kleenex down the toilet all of the time and learning how to unclog it myself.**

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to leave a review!**


	8. Cookies and Tea

**Thank you very much to those reading each chapter and leaving me reviews. This story is reminding me of _Catch Me_ with some hating Daryl and some understanding him while some just seem to dislike what I write no matter what. I hope this chapter clears up his thought process a little and more can understand where Daryl is coming from. Thank you!**

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…

 **Chapter Eight.**

Louis Dixon is, by far, her happiest dog patient and she tells him this as she examines him. His owner, however, is a completely different matter but she's not going to think about Daryl Dixon right now because this is Louis's appointment and Louis is her first priority.

"Alright, Louis," Beth smiles as rubs the dog behind his floppy ears and Louis's tail is shaking with such force, it's rocking his entire body back and forth. "Now what did we learn from all of this? Porcupines are adorable but must not be threatened."

She kisses the dog on his snout and she then goes to get him a Milkbone dog biscuit from the container on her desk.

"You think porcupines are adorable?" Daryl asks as she holds out the treat for Louis and the dog eagerly takes it and chomps it up.

"Yep," Beth smiles and takes Louis's chart, writing down her final notes. "There's this video online of a porcupine at a zoo who high-fives his caretaker. It's probably one of the cutest things I've ever seen," she says and lifting her eyes to look at him, she sees that his lips are doing that twitching thing where it looks like he's going to smile but is not quite sure if it's what he actually wants to do or not. She wonders why he doesn't just smile.

She's been trying her hardest not to have her thoughts dwell on this man across from her. She _had_ a crush on him but it was fast and she's done her best to squash it. She asked him to watch a movie with her and he wasn't interested so as far as Beth's concerned, that's that. That's what she tells herself anyway.

When she saw him at Joe's a couple of nights ago, she had been out with Rosita, her long-time boyfriend, Spencer, and Zach. Beth had dated him for a year in high school but they had broken up during junior year and neither of them thought of one another much after that. But Beth has moved back to town and Zach has happened to move back, too. His father is the dentist in town and Zach had also gone to dental school to become a dentist and is now sharing his dad's practice. It felt good to connect once again after not talking for so long. Zach used to be incredibly immature – a typical seventeen-year-old high school boy – but now, he's obviously grown up; an adult, a dentist now, of all things. And Beth had enjoyed catching up with him again – even though she knew from the first second of seeing him again that she could see having nothing except friendship with Zach.

Of course, when she saw Louis, and then Daryl, after that, she told herself that she could see having nothing except friendship with Daryl, too, though her clenching stomach seemed to disagree with that.

"Alright," Beth finishes writing her notes to herself. "He is as good as new," she says with a smile, lifting her eyes and looking at Daryl; finding that he's already looking at her.

He's a handsome man. Attractive. Good-looking. And not for the first time, Beth has to wonder exactly what Amy had been thinking when she ended her relationship with him. Beth doesn't know Daryl that well; doesn't know how he would be in a relationship but she has always gotten a vibe from people and it has rarely steered her wrong. And she depends on animals a lot. Animals have a keen sense of who a person truly is and Louis is such a happy dog and he follows Daryl everywhere. If Daryl is truly a terrible person, Louis wouldn't act as if the sun rises and falls with the man.

Beth looks at Daryl and sees him as the kind of man with who she'd want to share a relationship. But she knows he looks at her and sees that she's not Amy and that's all that matters to him. She doesn't question his feelings though. He was in love with that woman for a few years of his life. He just can't turn it off just because she hadn't wanted him.

She goes to her desk and clicks a few things on the computer screen and a piece of paper spits out from the printer. "Here you go," she says as she hands it to him and he doesn't even look at the invoice before he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his wallet. He takes out five twenties and something inside of her tells her that these are the twenties she gave to Lori to give to him for fixing the well pump.

"It's only eighty," she says and takes four of the bills. "You're a very stubborn man," she then notes as she goes to put the cash in the lock-box in her bottom desk drawer.

He smirks at that. "Looks who's talkin'," Daryl retorts, folding the remaining twenty into his pocket. "'s quiet 'round here today."

"You were my last patient. I am officially done for the day," she tells him with a smile and then gives Louis one more rub behind his ear. "Would you like a cup of tea? I was just about to make myself a cup," she says to his owner.

She has no idea why she's asked that. She doesn't expect him to accept her invitation and she can't imagine Daryl Dixon drinking tea. He stands there for a moment, not saying anything, and like she had done in his kitchen when she had asked him to the movie in the park and he had been silent just like he is now, she almost tell him never-mind.

But Daryl answers her before she can say that.

"A'right," he says with a nod of his head.

Beth feels her eyes widen at that, unable to help herself. She had never expected him to want to stay here longer than he had to. She makes sure to quickly collect herself. "Do you like chamomile?" She asks.

"Yeah," he nods once more.

She gives him a small smile and opens the door to the exam room, stepping out, aware that he's walking behind her and she can hear the click of Louis's nails on the hardwood floor and the clink of the metals around his neck as he walks with Daryl, both following her into the kitchen. Beth goes right to the cabinet where she keeps her tea boxes and she fills the kettle on the stove with water.

Once setting that on the stove ring, she turns back to him. Daryl is standing in the doorway of the kitchen as if unsure whether he should come all the way in or not. Beth smiles at him and holds a hand out towards the table and he slowly goes to it, pulling a chair out and sitting down. She then goes to another counter and takes a plastic container.

"One of my patients made these for me and brought them yesterday. Do you like peanut butter cookies?" She asks as she lifts the lid back, releasing the scent of the homemade cookies that are making her stomach grumble just at the sight of them.

"They're my favorite," Daryl answers.

"Mine, too," she gives a small smile at that and sits down in the chair next to him. She takes a cookie for herself and he follows her lead, taking a cookie for himself. "So," she begins, hoping they'll be able to talk with one another without making it somehow awkward. No matter what her stomach seems to think, she'll be more than happy if she can have some semblance of a friendship with Daryl Dixon. "How's work?" She asks him.

"'s a'right," he answers with a shrug and breaks off a little bit of the cookie, giving it to Louis. "Keepin' me and T-Dog plenty busy. How 'bout you?" He asks in return.

And just like when he accepted her invitation to tea, she's taken aback for a beat in time that he seems to be trying to engage her in conversation.

"It's alright," Beth answers truthfully. "Still finding my way. I know how my daddy ran his practice and I want to run it the same way but I… I want to be able to put my own stamp on it, too, you know?" She asks though she can't imagine that he would.

Or maybe he would.

He's a Dixon and his dad may have been gone and dead for years now but that name comes with some weight to it in their little town. Maybe he knows all about showing people that he's not his dad.

She takes a small bite of cookie and then sighs softly. "I've always wanted to be a vet. Ever since I was a little kid and you change what you want to be when you grow up just about every other week. Not me. My answer was always the same and my daddy was always so happy and proud that I was going to be following in his footsteps. He'd let me come into the exam room and watch him with the animals and I just always thought it'd be Greene and Greene on that front door."

She's not sure why she's just told him all of that but when she lifts her eyes, she sees that he's looking right at her, listening to her every word. And best of all, she doesn't see pity in those eyes. He looks a little sad for her but that's much better than being pitied by people. She's been getting that look ever since she's moved back here. But Daryl is just sitting there and listening to her and she hadn't realized how badly she needed someone to just listen to her without interjecting their own opinions as to what she should do as she talks until now.

How can a man who doesn't even know her know exactly what she needs right now?

"And living here, it scares me sometimes. Not that I think someone is lurking in the shadows. It's just… it's so big. Way too big for just me and it's too much for just me to handle but if I don't, who will? My older sister lives in Michigan and my older brother is… somewhere. Oregon, now, I think and they don't think about the farm at all. They would tell me to sell it. But… it's daddy's farm, you know? It's been in the family for years and I just can't… he wouldn't want me to sell it."

"You sure 'bout that?" Daryl finally speaks and he takes a bite of cookie as she looks at him.

"What do you mean?" Beth asks and the kettle starts to scream as it releases its steam. She gets up to go prepare their cups of tea. She looks over her shoulder, back to Daryl at the table to urge him to go on, and he shrugs, looking at her.

"I got to know your pops pretty good over the past couple of years," Daryl said.

"Yes," Beth nods. "He couldn't say enough good things about you."

She comes back to the table with the mugs and as she sets one down in front of Daryl, she notices his ears poking from his hair have both turned a faint shade of pink as if embarrassed. She goes to the cabinet and gets a bowl, filling it with water, before setting it down in front of Louis, and she then sits down once more, taking another cookie and looking at Daryl, hoping he'll continue.

He does. "I always got the impression that your old man didn' expect you to take over the farm. Just the practice. And you could have a practice anywhere in town," he says.

Beth blinks at him for a moment. "He said that?"

"More or less," he shrugs and pauses to take a sip of tea. "Couldn' say 'nough good things 'bout you. 've been hearin' all 'bout his amazin' youngest daughter for a while now."

It is Beth's turn to blush faintly.

"But he never, not once, ever said you were a farm girl," Daryl says. "Thinks he knew you were meant for somethin' more than to stay here and try to keep this farm goin'. Don't think he'd blame you in the least if you sold."

Beth's quiet, taking a sip of her tea, thinking that over. It's something she and her daddy never talked about. It was always one of those conversations which Beth thought they would have plenty of time to talk about and always put it off for another day.

But still, sell the farm…

"Can I ask you something?" Beth asks him as he nods as he sips his tea. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to," she then is quick to tell him just in case he thinks otherwise.

Daryl takes a bite of his cookie and looks at her and waits.

"You and Amy…" she begins but then she's not quite too sure how to continue. She sees Daryl stiffen slightly and she looks at him but he's looking at her and he's still waiting. "Are you still in love with her?" She asks and she has _no_ idea where the courage to ask that has come from. It's absolutely none of her business. It's really no one's business – especially hers. And yet, maybe if she knows, she'll be able to finally get her stomach to stop stubbornly clenching every time he's around.

Daryl doesn't answer right away and she doesn't expect him to. He keeps eating his cookie and she takes a sip of her tea. She feels a warm weight on her foot underneath the table and looking down, she smiles when she sees that Louis has laid down and put his head on her foot. The house gets so chilly at night – even in the summer – and she imagines that having Louis around, she'd never get cold feet in bed again.

"Can't just stop somethin' like that," he finally answers, more like a mutter, and Beth looks back to him. He's leaning forward, both of his hands cupped around the mug of hot tea, not looking at her. "I was with her for two years and I jus' thought I would keep on bein' with her. I didn' know she was already done with me."

Beth's quiet at that and she can't help but feel a little sad for him. Even though Amy cheated on him and doesn't want to be with him anymore, Daryl had been in love and ready to marry her. If a person is blindsided like that, it's even harder for their feelings to dim away. Amy may have been done with the relationship but Daryl definitely wasn't. He still isn't.

"Everyone just thinks it's like a light switch, you know? Just turn it on or off." He says and lifts her eyes once again to her. Beth has never heard this man speak so much and she doesn't want to speak herself now just in case it quiets him up. She wants him to keep talking. She feels a warmth curling in her belly – not from the tea – that Daryl is talking with _her_ about this. "Like Rick and Merle. They expect me to already be movin' on and forgettin' her and I know she's a bitch. And I wish I wasn' like this but…"

"It's not a light switch," she finishes for him.

"Yeah," he says with a nod and looks back down to his tea.

Beth is quiet for a moment, watching him. His words had had the opposite reaction though and her stomach is tightening even more than it usually does when around him.

She wishes someone would love her as fiercely as this man loves. This is a man who once he loves you, he'll probably wind up loving you forever. And Beth feels such an intense jealousy towards Amy in that moment, she's almost startled by it. Beth's never had anyone love her like that.

"When I asked you to come see _Jurassic Park_ with me tonight, I was asking you as a friend," Beth tells him. "I have Rosita and a couple of other friends but… I don't have that many people to hang around with. I was thinking… maybe you didn't either."

She knows he has his older brother and Sheriff Grimes is his best friend and there's T-Dog and his mom that he can all talk with and spend time with but it seems like all of them have certain expectations about what he should be doing and feeling and she hopes that if they were to spend time together, this will be her one and only time asking him about Amy.

Daryl has fallen quiet once more and he leans back in the chair, sipping the last of his tea. And just like he had when he accepted her invitation to tea, he nods his head once.

"A'right," he says and that's all he says but it's more than enough for Beth.

…

When the town shows movies in the Commons on Friday nights during the warmer months, the area can fill up quickly but Spencer always gets them a good spot. He works right across the park in the Town Hall, where he's the Mayor's assistant. Politics are in his family's blood though they work with senators and governors and not little town Mayors but the Mayor of their town keeps Spencer plenty busy – especially since he's part of the older crowd who run the town and is a borderline racist sometimes with his comments, whether he actually means to be or not – the old South as he and the old people say – and Spencer is always running around, trying to keep him in line.

He gets them a spot by the Stonewall Jackson statue and Beth usually is the one to show up next – with the blanket and basket of food. Spencer stands up with a grin and helps her spread out the blanket before he plops down again and opens the basket to see what she's brought with her for this movie night. Around them, the park is beginning to fill up with other people and their blankets, all looking towards the large white screen that has been erected, and there is excited chatter filling the air.

"This is new," Spencer grins as he pulls out a plastic baggie filled with little bone-shaped dog biscuits. "Peanut Butter?"

"Shut up," Beth smiles and taking the baggie from him, she puts it back into the basket. "I have a friend coming tonight and he has a dog."

Spencer just keeps smiling at her and she refrains from leaning over and shoving him away because she knows that he knows exactly who is coming. At Joe's, Spencer had teased her more than once about this particular man and his dog.

It doesn't matter that her brother is clear across the country. She has a filler brother still here and she's known Spencer for years so she's more than used to his constant teasing. He and Rosita have been dating since high school – which is a ridiculously long time when a person realizes that they've been together for nearly ten years already and have survived both high school and college and the uncertainty of the future, all the while staying together. Rosita's 28th birthday is next month and Beth is the only one to know that Spencer has bought a ring and will finally be proposing to her – though in most of the townspeople's opinions, they've been married for years now.

Rosita comes next, collapsing onto the blanket without a word to any of them. She sits herself between Spencer's knees and rests her back against his chest. "I hate people," is all she says and Beth pulls a glass bottle of pink lemonade from the basket. Still with her eyes closed, Rosita, somehow, knows it's being offered and she takes it. "This better be spiked."

"I, like a true politician, hate people, too," Spencer agrees with his girlfriend. Rosita opens her eyes and tilts her head up to look at him. "You read the paper today?" He asks them both. "Another protest tomorrow morning. Stay out of the Commons, if I were you."

"Who is it between this time?" Rosita asks.

For as little as their town is, there always seems to be a protest over one thing or another.

"The usual," he says and points towards the Stonewall Jackson statue. "We should just tear it down. More trouble than it's worth."

"But then how will people spend their time here if they don't have that to argue and protest over?" Beth asks.

Beth hears an excited barking and she turns her head, spotting Louis in the crowd, running towards her, having smelt and spotted her through all of the other people. And before she can even get to her feet, the dog has practically tackled her, licking her face and begging for attention, and Beth laughs as she tries to both greet the dog and calm him down at the same time. She loves all of her patients but there's just something about Louis. Maybe it's because she was the one to find him at that rest stop when he was a puppy. And maybe Louis remembers that, too, and that's why he always seems so happy when he sees her.

When she lifts her head, she sees that Daryl's standing there now, too, his hands in his pockets as if he's not too sure what to do and as expected, her stomach clenches and she wonders if this is how it always is. Does Rosita's stomach still clench when she sees Spencer? Does Maggie's when she sees Glenn? And Beth doesn't even know if she wants it to stop; is not sure if she wants her crush on him to actually go away.

Daryl is looking down at her and Louis and his lips are doing that twitching thing like he wants to smile and Beth beams up at him.

…

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 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review.**


	9. Your Next Move

**I seriously can't thank you guys enough for the response you've been giving this story and I feel like I say that with each chapter but thank you from the bottom of my heart. I can't tell you how much it means to me.**

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…

 **Chapter Nine.**

When Beth said she'd be bringing food to the park for the movie, Daryl had expected something simple like cheese and crackers. And there are cheese and crackers but there's a lot more than that and he just sits there on the blanket with her and her two friends, watching as she keeps pulling stuff from the basket she's brought with her.

"I hope you're hungry," she smiles at them all.

There are cold cut sandwiches on little rolls of bread, potato salad, pasta salad, freshly baked corn bread, cut up mango and watermelon, the cheese and crackers, bottles of pink lemonade and water and for dessert, she produces the container of the rest of the peanut butter cookies they had been eating from earlier that afternoon but hadn't been able to finish. She's even brought little dog biscuits and a pig-ear for Louis.

"You know there are only four of us, right?" Rosita teases her. She had been leaning against Spencer but now, she sits up and grabs a paper plate, beginning to help herself.

"Shut up. I like to feed people," Beth says and Daryl gets the feeling that this is something her friends tease her about often.

"And you know we're people, right? And not rhinos?" Spencer grins, grabbing one of the little ham sandwiches and leaning back on his elbow, he takes a bite that is nearly the entire thing, and Rosita hands him another one.

Beth looks to Daryl and she smiles as she hands him a paper plate. "Please. Eat. I hate taking home leftovers."

"Only got one stomach," Daryl says to her in his quiet voice and when Rosita hears, she laughs and Beth rolls her eyes and his lips twitch in a smile.

He loads as much as he can onto his plate and listens to the other three talk and joke with one another. He can tell they've all been friends for a long time and have more of that kind of bond that siblings have rather than mere friends. He knows he and Rick have that kind of bond between them but even though they've known each other a long time now, things have slightly shifted and Daryl wonders if Rick can feel it, too. Daryl knows he can go to the man for anything and Rick will do anything to help if Daryl needs him but Rick got married and then had a couple of kids and when that happens, priorities shift – as they should. His wife and kids are usually on his mind – whether he has something to worry about or not – and Daryl, sometimes, feels like he and Rick just don't have that much in common anymore.

He sees Beth's fingers floating in the corner of his vision and he lifts his head from his plate to see that a soft smile is across her face as she gently catches a blinking lightning bug with a gentle hand. She then turns that smile on him and looks at him as if nothing more amazing has ever happened to her. And he stares at her, unable to help himself. He stares at her as she looks at the lightning bug closely as the bug walks to the tip of her finger before it flutters it wings and lifts itself up and away and she keeps smiling the whole time.

"Did you make a wish?" She asks, looking to him.

He shakes his head slightly then as if shaking himself from a trance. "Wha'?" He asks.

"A wish. If you catch a firefly and set it free, you make a wish as it flies away," she explains.

He's never heard of that before. He shrugs his shoulder. "You caught it. Not me," he replies before chewing on a forkful of pasta salad and Beth just smiles and he wants to ask her what she wished for even though he knows it's none of his business. Anyway, Beth's probably one of those girls who believes that the wish won't come true if you say what it is.

In the distance, he hears a familiar laugh and it makes him stop in mid-chew. He thinks maybe he's just imagined it. After all, the Commons area is crowded that night with other people picnicking, ready for the movie to begin and all around him, there is chatter and laughter and there's no way he'd be able to pick out her laughter among everything. But the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and he knows he's not imagining it. It's there. Again. Loud and crystal clear as if she's laughing right next to him.

He feels his appetite completely disappear within a second and he sets his plate down, somehow managing to swallow the food that is now a lump of wood down his throat.

"Are you alright?" Beth asks from beside him, noticing.

He doesn't say anything. He just nods though it's pretty damn obvious that he's not alright. And he hears the laugh again and he stiffens. What the hell is she doing here? She's never come to a movie they show in the park at night. She never expressed interest in going – always saying that the town shows movies she has no desire to see. Kid movies and musicals or old black and white movies and Amy doesn't like any of those kinds of movies. _Jurassic Park_ is something different though and maybe that's why she's here. Maybe Randall loves this movie and that's why they're here tonight.

"No, Louis," he hears Rosita say and he looks to see that Louis is getting too close to the plate Daryl had sat down on the blanket, ready to eat the food himself. Rosita hands him the pig ear for him to chew on instead and to be distracted.

Daryl doesn't know how they would possibly know. It's not like they know what Amy's laugh sounds like. Or maybe they do if they hang out at Joe's on nights Amy is there, too, sitting on her stool. All Daryl knows is Spencer reaches into the bag he's brought with him and holds something out for Daryl to take.

"Here, man," he offers. "And I have more if you need it."

Daryl reaches out and takes it, seeing that it's a mini-bar size bottle of vodka. Not his usual choice of drink but hell, right now, anything would be better than listening to Amy laughing without a care in the world, somewhere in the Commons, making him feel sick to his stomach because even though he can't see her, he can hear her. _Everyone_ can fucking hear her and he wants to just take Louis and go home so he doesn't have to listen anymore.

But he stays because Beth asked him to be there and she said that she wanted to be friends and Daryl knows he wouldn't mind being friends with her – sounds nice actually – and friends just don't get up and walk away from hanging out just because their ex is around. It's a small town. Of course his ex will be around and he needs to just get used to it.

Daryl exhales a heavy sigh and unscrewing the cap of the vodka bottle, he tips his head back and downs nearly the entire thing in one gulp.

…

When he was younger, he'd go to the Commons with his mom when they would show movies. Not as many as they do not but always on Memorial Day and Labor Day – signifying the beginning and ending of summer. Paulie brought a blanket and bug spray and they sat side-by-side, watching _The Wizard of Oz_ and _Barefoot in the Park_. Paulie's always been crazy about a young Robert Redford.

And now, he's back here with Beth, sitting next to her on the blanket, but it's different. For one, she, Rosita and Spencer seem to take movie watching in the park very seriously because not only is there a blanket and enough food to stuff all of them, Rosita and Beth both have brought pillows for everyone and Spencer has brought liquor. They make themselves a comfy spot on a patch of grass in the Commons next to the Stonewall Jackson statue and by the time the night sky is nearly completely dark, and Louis is happily lying down and chewing on his bone, three of the four people are lounging back, eating peanut butter cookies and the rest of the cheese and crackers and fruit and cheering along with everyone else around them as the movie begins.

"Here," Beth says, looking up to Daryl, and she gives him a smile he can see still perfectly, despite it being near dark. She's lying back, propped up against two pillows, and she takes the two remaining pillows and piles them for him next to her. "Unless you want to sit up."

Daryl pauses for a moment. He's never done anything like this before. Lounging on a blanket with other people, eating and picnicking and watching a movie and just relaxing. He looks around at all of the people around them and all of them are eating and lounging on their own blankets. This is what is done in the Commons during a movie night. And maybe he should lounge, too. He's never done it before but maybe it's time for him to do things a little differently.

Slowly, he leans back against the pillows and Beth smiles at him, handing him a cracker with a cube of Colby cheese. And he feels his lips twitching a little in response, taking it from her, popping it into his mouth, before his eyes go back to the screen. He's seen this movie once – when it first came out and he saw it in the theater, along with everyone else in the world – but he hasn't seen it since.

Sometimes, he hears Beth saying lines of dialogue along with the actors and when the goat leg lands with a splat on the jeep's window, she, along with others around them, cheer and Daryl finds himself relaxing back against the pillows and smiling to himself.

Once Louis finishes his pig ear, he gets up and stretches before shaking himself off. Daryl wonders if he should lead him somewhere away from all of the people so he can go to the bathroom but instead, Louis comes to the space between Daryl and Beth and burrows himself down between them though there's not enough room for him. Beth giggles and moves over so there is and Daryl scratches a hand behind Louis's ear as the dog rests his head down on his front paws and thumps his tail once against the blanket. Beth's hand then joins his, scratching Louis behind his other ear and the dog looks as if he's in heaven now.

Beth lifts her eyes and looks to Daryl, giving him a smile, and for the second time that night, Daryl finds himself looking at her and he's not really able to get himself to look away but then there's a loud roar from the screen and Beth looks away first, getting back to the movie, and Daryl's finally able to move his eyes, too.

He can hear the mosquitoes buzzing around though they're all wearing a bucket of bug spray each so Daryl doesn't feel any biting him. He sees lightning bugs and hears the crickets and people munching food and talking softly around them and hears Beth murmur "Clever girl" right before Muldoon is attacked by the raptor and Daryl settles himself against the pillows more until he's almost sinking into them, his eyes glued to the screen.

When the movie is done and people begin gathering their things to leave, Daryl finds himself feeling almost disappointed.

…

"So, you and the Doc, huh?" Merle gives him a grin as Paulie pours them cups of coffee.

Daryl isn't entirely surprised by the question though it's really not a question. Not from Merle. The grin he's giving is lecherous and suggestive and Daryl just frowns as he picks up his cup and takes a sip. He's not going to humor his older brother and give him an answer. He knows that plenty of people saw them lying side-by-side on a blanket at movie night and it won't matter that Louis was lying between them. People saw what they saw and that is all is needed for the start of gossip to go flying.

"We're jus' friends," Daryl finally mutters because Merle won't stop grinning and Daryl hates that grin. At least, that's what he thinks they are. Beth said that that's what she is hoping they would be so that's what Daryl is going to say they are.

Merle snorts into his own cup of coffee. "Sure thing, baby brother."

"Merle, leave your brother alone," Paulie says as she returns to stand in front of them on the other side of the counter and Merle just keeps on grinning. "Now, what do you two want for breakfast?" She asks them.

The two men order their breakfasts and Paulie goes to take their order into the kitchen. Through the window where orders are placed once done, Daryl can see his mom and the owner of the diner, Dale, talk with one another. The man is a bit older than Paulie – owner, cook and widower – and it's not much a secret that he has something of a crush on his waitress. It had been his wife's idea to hire Paulie all of those years ago after Will died and she was in need of work and money to care for her sons. They were Christians and they had to set an example. And Dale had pretty much worshiped the ground Irma Horvath walked on and did nearly anything she wanted. And for years after, Paulie became a friend and they made sure to always invite her and her youngest son, Daryl, over for dinner on Sunday evenings.

Dale and Irma were good people and from Dale, Daryl learned things that he supposes boys learn from their fathers. How to treat women – though Daryl already learned that long ago and anything Will Dixon did, just do the opposite – how to change a car's oil – though Daryl had taught himself that years earlier because they had one junk car and his mom couldn't afford to take it into service when it needed it – and how to generally be a good and productive man of society – which, Daryl, admitted, he didn't know how to do.

When Irma became sick with cancer, Paulie went over to their house every day, helping the woman be as comfortable as possible and helping Dale with things around the house that he was letting fall to the wayside as his wife slowly died in their bed.

It's been years since Irma passed away and everyone in town knows that Dale still mourns his wife every day but he's beginning to finally move on past her – the smiles he gives Paulie nowadays more friendly than the ones given in the past.

Daryl sips his coffee and watches them through the window. He wonders if he'll be their age by the time he finally gets over Amy.

What he muttered in Rick's bathroom and what he told Beth are both true. He's not sure if he wants to get over her because yeah, he knows he _should_ forget her and she's a bitch and he's sees that more than he ever has before but he was with her for a long time and he was in love with her and he wanted to marry her for Christ's sake. Being with Amy is familiar to him and he's still not sure how to deal with everything turned upside on its head now.

He thinks of Beth, then, propping pillows up for him on the blanket so he could relax and watch the movie and it's something so small. She probably hasn't even thought of it since the second after she did it. Seeing to others and their comfort is probably her second nature. But even now, hours later, Daryl can't remember Amy ever doing something like that for him. Just something where it saw to his comfort maybe before hers.

Living with Will Dixon and watching him beat the living shit out of his mom, and him, too, Daryl learned a few things. How to be quiet. How to make himself as small as possible. How to live his life and not make any waves. When he was with Amy, he always rolled over like a dog and did whatever she wanted because he didn't want to cause any trouble. He just wanted a simple, easy life and keeping Amy happy was the way he had it.

He knows it's not healthy and it probably doesn't make too much sense to others but to him, being with Amy, it was just how he always envisioned a good relationship to be.

After seeing to her other tables, Dale rings the bell on the window and Paulie goes to collect the two plates, turning and setting them down in front of her sons.

"Thanks, ma," Merle grins at her.

"Thanks, ma," Daryl echoes and it's never mattered to Paulie how old her sons are.

She leans into the counter and kisses them each on the forehead before bell rings again and she's off, delivering more food to more tables.

"So, what are you gonna do 'bout livin' situations?" Merle asks him as both men dive into their breakfasts. "You gonna keep livin' with ma?"

Daryl shrugs, turning on his stool to flick Louis a bit piece of bacon, the dog happily catching it in his mouth and then sitting obediently for more. "For the time bein'," he said, turning back to his breakfast plate. "Shane's got a place 'bove his garage but even he said that it's a shithole and I'd rather put work into somethin' I see myself stayin' in a long time."

Merle shovels more of his eggs into his mouth. "What are you thinkin'? We can always talk to Joe. Maybe he'll let you put another trailer back by mine behind the bar."

Daryl immediately shakes his head to that. "Nah. Don't want that neither."

Merle sighs heavily and puts his fork and knife down his plate. He then brings his elbows up on the counter and folds his hands beneath his chin. He stares at Daryl so long and so hard, Daryl nearly shifts on his stool as if he's under the bright light in an interrogation room. He does his best to ignore him and continue eating his breakfast.

"Daryl," Merle then says his name and Daryl was expecting his brother to sound harsh then but he doesn't. He actually sounds tired. Daryl looks to his older brother, unable to help but feel curious. "You ain't gonna be movin' back in with Amy," he says.

Daryl's frown is instant. "I know I ain't. What the hell you talkin' 'bout?"

"You don't want to live above Shane's garage. You don't want to get yourself a trailer. What do you want? You nearly forty and you're still gonna be livin' with ma," Merle says and his hands drop. He picks up his knife and fork again but he seems done with eating for now.

"Well, ma's gettin' older. Ain't nothin' wrong with it if I wind up stayin' 'round to help her."

Daryl's still frowning and he feels himself getting angry now, too. Merle's doing what Merle always does. He expects Daryl to act certain ways in situations and gangs up on him if he doesn't do exactly that.

"I think you're waitin' for Amy to take you back and if she does, and you go back to her, I ain't never gonna talk to you again, Daryl," Merle frowns on her. "Move the fuck on, boy."

Before Daryl can even think of a retort to that, Dale calls out his name.

"Daryl, phone call!"

Without a word to Merle, Daryl stands up and even with his breakfast not even half-finished, he tosses a couple fives on the counter next to his plate. He's lost his appetite.

There's a phone in the kitchen on the wall and Daryl goes there now, Louis trotting after him. Maybe it's T or Rick. He can't imagine who else would know he'd be there.

He picks up the receiver. "Yeah?" He answers gruffly. Through the window, he can see Paulie come up to Merle and they start talking and Daryl tenses because he knows they're talking about him.

"Hi, Daryl," Beth's voice fills his ear. "I took a guess and was hoping you'd be there."

"What's wrong?" He asks her because he can't imagine Beth calling him just to chat.

"Do you know anything about air-conditioners? I'm at Buddy's store right now, thinking about buying a unit for the farmhouse. Daddy always said it was something he wanted but never got around to it and I've got a little bit of inheritance… Anyway, I think it's time I get air-conditioning. If not for me, at least for the animals. But I'm standing here, looking at what I could get and I have _no_ idea what I'm doing and I was hoping you did."

She has said so many words at once, it takes Daryl a couple of seconds for his mind to register what the hell she's just said. He watches Dale at his large flat-iron, working on cooking five orders at once. Flipping pancakes. Scrambling eggs. Everything sizzling and popping and smelling amazing. Watching Dale cook – fast but certain – is almost relaxing.

"First off," he finally says to Beth. "Get out of Buddy's. He's a good guy but all of his units are higher priced than anywhere else. Wait for me outside and me and Louis will come pick you up. We'll head over to Chilton. They got a place and we'll get you a good deal there."

"Oh, Daryl, you don't have to do all of that…" she begins to protest, not surprising to him.

And before she can continue, Daryl hangs up on her and pulls his keys from his pocket. "Let's go, Louis," he says to the dog and with a parting wave to Dale, he heads out of the back door in the kitchen so he doesn't have to walk past his brother or mom again.

…

* * *

 **Thank you so much for reading and please take a moment to review!  
**


	10. Cool Boys

**Yes, this is most definitely a slow burn but if you tilt your head and look for it, Beth and Daryl are already making progress though some might not agree with that.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Ten.**

"A'right," Daryl says to her once he pulls into a parking space in the lot of the A1 Hardware Store and they get out of the truck, Louis trotting beside them as they walk towards the store's front entrance. "Now, I ain't tryin' to be sexist or anythin' but when we're in there, let me do all the talkin' with the salesguy."

Beth is quick to nod her head in instant agreement.

Thank God Daryl can be here to help her because what she said on the phone to him is the truth. She has absolutely no idea what she is doing. All she knows is that she doesn't have air-conditioning and she thinks it's time that she gets some. She had tried to research on the internet for what she should get but there had been too many units and too many options and she didn't know where to start. She doesn't mean to annoy Daryl with her constant asking him for help with things around the farm but she really has no one else. There's Otis, yes, but despite what he claims, he's getting up there in years and he should start taking it easier. The farm is her responsibility anyway and not his and she's going to try as hard as she can to make a go of it because despite what Daryl told her about her daddy, selling is just not an option for her.

They stop outside the doors before entering the store and Beth looks to Louis, who is panting and wagging his tail excitedly. She smiles at him and rubs a hand behind his ear.

"I didn't think you could bring dogs in there," Beth says though it's not really something she's honestly ever thought of.

"Yeah," Daryl nods and then pulls a leash from his back pocket. "'s long as he's on this, there's a bunch of places he can go into. I was in Home Depot a few months ago and someone had brought their poodle in. If that dog can be in there, Louis can be, too."

Beth smiles at that and watches as Daryl clips the leash onto Louis's collar. She walks with them through the automatic sliding doors and she goes to get a cart – more out of habit than anything. And taking the leash from Daryl's hand, she loops the handle around the cart's bar. He looks at her and his lips do that twitch things and Beth smiles in return.

"A'right," Daryl stops them before they can walk any further. "'fore we get there, lemme know your price point. How much you got to spend?"

"Um…" Beth thinks about it for a moment and then shakes her head. "I don't know. I went online but I was seeing prices all over the place. I guess…" she pauses and looks up at him and she doesn't want to seem like an idiot or helpless but she called him to come with her because all of this is just a little bit outside her comfort level. "Three thousand?" She fires out the first random number that pops into her mind.

And she wonders if that's way too low or way too high but Daryl just nods and he steps away. With Louis and pushing the cart, Beth follows after and Daryl keeps his steps slow so they can walk side by side.

She wants to thank him again for helping her and though she still doesn't know nearly enough about this man, it's clear to her that he never seems willing to accept anything like that. He doesn't seem comfortable with any type of praise but he _should_ be comfortable because everyone should be thanking him all of the time. Beth knows she's not the only one he helps out with things around their houses and they should all be thanking him until they're blue in the face. She gets the feeling that without Daryl's handyman business, much of their little town would probably be falling apart.

She looks around as they head towards the back of the small – yet stuffed full – hardware store. There is everything she can imagine needed for building and repair packed into each aisle they pass. And she can't help but giggle to herself and Daryl looks at her curiously.

"Wha'?" He wonders.

She shakes her head but can't stop smiling. "I bet you know more than everyone who works here," she says, looking up at him, and she sees his lips twitching – just slightly – before he seems to collect himself and with his hands in the front pockets of his jeans, he shrugs, but she can see the tips of his ears poking through his hair turning a faint pink.

The air-conditioning and heating units are in the back of the store and Beth stops the cart next to Daryl as he stops to look at the first one they come across. He walks around the unit and then lifts up the card of information hanging from it, reading over what's listed there. She can't help but lean in a little closer to him and peer onto the card as well even though she has no idea what she's reading. She recognizes the words; just not strung together.

Goodman GSX130361: 3 TON, 14 OR 15 SEER CONDENSER, R-410A REFRIGERANT

Okay…

She lied. She has no idea what she's reading.

"Can I help you?" A salesman comes up to them wearing a green vest and a smile.

"Yeah. We're lookin' to get an AC unit for the house," Daryl says. "This one looks 'bout the one we're lookin' for."

"It's a good one, that's for sure. One of our best on the floor," the salesman agrees. "And it comes with a 10-year warranty and is made specifically for these southern states. How big is the house you're looking to cool down?"

Daryl looks to Beth.

"I think it's around 2800 square feet," she answers and she hopes that's right. She thinks she heard her daddy say that once upon a time when someone asked him. All she really knows is that the farmhouse is rather large and the salesman's raised eyebrows show that he's thinking the same thing.

"Then, this would definitely be your best bet," the salesman says, looking back to Daryl, and Daryl is back to looking over the information on the sign. "And it just so happens to be on sale this week."

"Hmmm," Daryl says, glancing over to Beth before back to the salesman. "You mind givin' us a second? Want to talk with her 'bout some things."

The salesman nodded, still smiling. "Take as long as you two want and come find me if you have any questions."

Once alone again, Beth looks at the unit as if she knows exactly what she's looking for.

"We ain't buyin' one today," he informs her and Beth's eyes fly to look at him.

"We're not?" She asks and her eyes widen with surprise but then she frowns with confusion. "But this one's on sale…" she then echoes the salesman's words.

"I gotta go to your house and see the size of your heatin' ducts. They might not be the right size or in the right spot for gettin' your money's worth. You wan' your house cool, right?"

Beth nods because she's starting to feel a headache coming on. She isn't sure what exactly she had been expecting but it isn't this. Maybe she should just buy a window unit instead of getting a whole air-conditioning unit for the entire house.

"'m gonna have Merle come and help. I know how to buy one of these but Merle knows what needs to be done to get it installed. He works for Buddy," he says and she nods, already knowing that, remembering George Mitchell at the drugstore complaining about him. "Places like this sell units at a good price and they get you on installation fees."

"I'll take your word for it," Beth says.

After they look at a few more units – which all look exactly the same to Beth – they head away from the section but Beth doesn't feel like leaving the hardware store just yet. It's not her usual place to spend time but it's probably Daryl's and she likes spending time with him. She tries to think of something to do with him other than cookies and tea or movies in the park but both of those things are two of her favorite things to do and she can't think of anything else to possibly suggest to him.

"What do you like to do?" She hears herself blurt out rather suddenly.

Daryl looks at her, obviously a little surprised, too. Beth feels her cheeks warm but she keeps looking at him, awaiting his answer.

"Wha' do you mean?" He asks. "In my spare time?"

"Yes," she nods with a smile. "What do you like to do when you're not working?"

His brow furrows and he gives her a look as if he's never been asked anything stranger than that. And _that's_ strange to Beth because hasn't anyone tried to get to know him before? What did he and Amy talk about when they began dating?

Beth keeps looking at him, waiting his answer, and Daryl seems to know that not answering her really isn't going to be an option. She can be extremely stubborn and will just ask him again and maybe he already knows that about her.

Daryl shrugs. "I like to read," he says and then looks at her as if waiting to see what her reaction to that would be but Beth just keeps looking at him and smiles faintly. "And I go huntin' just 'bout every weekend."

She already knows that part and she nods. "What do you like to read?"

He shrugs again. "All sorts of things, I guess."

He turns his head away as if he doesn't want to talk about this anymore and Beth can't help but frown a little as she turns her head away, too. She had already made the confession to him that she wants them to be friends and this is how people become friends. They talk with one another and get to know one another. Maybe she should invite him over for cookies and tea. He had seemed to be able to talk when in that environment.

Her eyes catch a passing sign. "Do you mind if we go in the nursery? There's a sale."

"I don't mind," he says and they both turn, heading towards the sliding doors at the side of the store that lead into the outdoor nursery.

The hardware store has put all of its flowers, plants and trees on sale since it's far into summer now and most people are done with their planting and everything that is left seems to be a little wilted. Beth always hates seeing things like this and Maggie and Shawn always used to tease her for being so sad about something so silly. It's like going to a tree lot in December and seeing the Christmas trees that hadn't been sold yet. Beth always gets the urge to buy everything that's left.

"Lookin' for anythin' special?" Daryl asks from beside her.

"I just want to buy everything here," Beth answers, looking around at the remaining marigolds, pansies and geraniums, all a little wilted in the intense Georgia heat.

"Plenty of room in the truck bed," Daryl responds with a shrug and Beth smiles a little at that because he doesn't know that she's absolutely serious.

Louis lets out a bark then and they both turn, lifting their eyes to see a squirrel scurrying alongside one of the exposed rafters of the nursery ceiling. He wags his tails and pulls on his leash, pulling the cart with him, and Daryl gently guides Beth aside so he can hold onto the cart's handlebar and keep Louis from running the whole thing off with him.

"Wha' 'bout you?" Daryl asks, his head turning back towards her. Beth is looking over the flowers and she lifts her eyes to look at Daryl. "Wha' do you like to do when you're not fixin' animals?"

Beth feels a warmth spread across her chest from him asking but she does her best to push it aside and ignore it. "I love to sing and I play the piano. And I read, too," she answers him.

"What do you read?" He asks.

"All sorts of things, I guess," Beth tosses back at him with a smile and he smirks at that.

She hears a rumble and for one second, she stupidly thinks that it's her stomach because she _is_ hungry. But then she's noticed that it's gotten a little dimmer in the nursery and the sky has turned overcast outside with approaching rain.

She steps away from the tables of flowers though she does so with some reluctance because she really doesn't want to go without buying all of these poor flowers. "We should probably go before it can hit."

"We can if you wan'," Daryl gives his head a nod. "But there ain't no better time to buy flowers though then in a rain shower."

And not for the first time, Beth looks to Daryl and wonders what goes through Amy's head.

Because yes, Daryl is handsome. Very handsome. Ridiculously handsome. Some people might not think that at first glance but his good looks are definitely there. He's tall and broad and built and just looking at him, Beth can't imagine too many things being able to knock him over. Even there in jeans and a wrinkled tee-shirt with facial hair from not shaving and too-long dark hair, he's more handsome than any of the clean-cut models Beth used to think as being her ideal kind of man.

But not only is Daryl handsome, he's kind. Simply put, he's just a kind man who is always willing to help her out when she calls him randomly, in need of him.

Sometimes, there doesn't seem to be too many genuinely kind people left in this world.

The rain has started to fall, pounding the roof above their heads, by the time Beth buys twelve sleeves with twelve small containers of flowers in each sleeve and five bags of soil. She also buys two rose bushes and one wilting maple tree that probably won't make it past this season but she doesn't care.

They stand inside of the doors, watching the downpour of rain falling from dark clouds.

"I think I went a little overboard," Beth then says, looking at the flowers and bushes and the maple tree standing next to Daryl.

Daryl just shrugs as he always seems to do. "Leas' they'll get a good soakin' in this." He begins unwinding the leash's handle from the cart and unclips it from Louis's collar before looking back to Beth. "Ready to run?" He asks.

She smiles, almost laughing. "I actually love walking in the rain."

And she's not sure what his reaction to that will be but after a moment of looking at her, his lips twitch. Not in a smirk but the twitching that shows that he wants to smile. It's almost like he doesn't quite know how to actually produce something as seemingly simple as a smile. Beth decides right then and there that she will get Daryl Dixon to smile if it's the last thing she ever does while here on this earth.

"A'right," he gives his head a nod and hefts the maple tree bucket in his arm. "Walkin' it is."

And with that, the automatic sliding doors open and they step out into the rain together.

…

Every Sunday, Beth gets up and goes to morning church service and then goes into the small cemetery next to it to visit with her mama and daddy for a while. She tells them everything that's going on in her life and with the farm and the practice though she believes that they can watch her from wherever they are right now and as she talks, she feels a scratch in the back of her throat and tears burning her eyes and she tells them how much she misses them and wishes they were here – though they already know that, too.

She then goes home and leaves her dress on but takes off her shoes because it's gearing up to be another hot and humid day and dresses are cooler to her to wear than anything else. After drinking another cup of coffee and eating toast with peanut butter slathered over it, she goes into the living room and sits on the bench at the upright piano, one of the fans pointed directly on her. Her fingers curl over the keys but before she can even play one note, she hears the familiar sound of gravel kicking up on the dirt drive, and she turns, seeing a truck through the front window, approaching the house.

"Stop," she whispers to her stomach as it immediately begins flipping and flopping all over the place. She needs to get rid of this crush because she and Daryl are friends and what more can she ask for than that? She already knows nothing more will ever happen between them.

She stands up from the bench and goes to the front door, stepping out onto the front porch. And as the truck gets closer, she sees that it's not Daryl and not Daryl's truck but rather, it's Merle Dixon behind the wheel.

Her stomach doesn't stop though because it knows that Merle is here _because_ of Daryl.

"Hey, Doc," Merle says as he hops out of the truck.

"Good morning," Beth greets him with a smile.

The brothers have about ten years between them but sometimes, Merle looks so much older than even that. With how old Paulie is, it's no secret to anyone who can do math that she was extremely young when she gave birth to her oldest son. But sometimes, Merle even looks older than his mom. And because their town loves to talk about everyone, Beth knows that Merle hasn't had exactly something of an easy life. Even after Will was dead, Merle couldn't shake the demons on his back. Drugs, drinking, crime and prison… For the most part, it seems as if maybe he has finally straightened himself out. After all, he does have a job now with Buddy's "Cool Boys" Air Conditioning Repair – even though it seems, according to some, that he shows up to that job whenever he feels like.

This morning, he looks as if he maybe never went to bed the night before. His jeans and white wife-beater are wrinkled and the shirt has a stain over his stomach not to mention the bags under his eyes as if they hadn't seen a pillow for many hours now.

"Lil' brother told me to come and get my ass over here to check out the air ducts," Merle says as he grabs his toolbox and approaches the porch with a grin.

Beth smiles in return. "You didn't have to rush over here. Daryl and I were just looking at units yesterday."

Merle shrugs. "Way Daryl ordered me, wasn' thinkin' I had much of a choice."

She feels her cheeks warm and she quickly lowers her eyes but not quickly enough because she's not even looking at Merle and she can still practically hear him grinning. She tries as quickly as she can to compose herself. There is absolutely no reason for blushing or stomach clenching. Daryl is just her friend and that's exactly how he's treating her. Like a friend.

"Hot damn," Merle says as he follows her into the house and it's probably hotter in here than it is outside even with the windows open and fans blowing. "Literally. Hot damn, Doc."

"You get used to it," Beth shrugs.

He's frowning though. "'m glad Daryl told me to get my ass over to see you."

Beth shows him into the basement and she stands off to the side so not to get in his way as he holds a flashlight between his teeth and checks out the air ducts that shoot off from the ancient heater. He has a pen and measuring tape and after each measurement he takes, he writes the number down on the inside of his wrist.

"Do you want a piece of paper?" Beth offers.

He shakes his head. "Nah," he says through the flashlight. He works for a few more minutes, measuring all of the ducts in the basement and then he drops the measuring tape back into his toolbox along with the pen and he takes the flashlight from his mouth but leaves it out and turned on.

"Surprised your old man didn't put central air into this place sooner," Merle comments.

Beth shrugs. "He talked about it but there was always something that had to be done first. You get used to it," she says again.

"Ain't no gettin' used to Hell, Doc," Merle responds.

She has heard plenty of stories of Merle Dixon. Less than savory stories. But even though she hardly knows this man, she finds herself not feeling nervous being alone with him in her basement right now. She does her best to not listen to small-town gossip anyway.

"I have some lemonade upstairs in the fridge. Would you like a glass?" She offers him.

"Hell, yeah," he agrees immediately and she laughs softly.

"You're a bit dramatic," she comments as she heads up the stairs, Merle right behind her, and she does her best to not think about how he's probably looking at her ass right now.

"Daryl's told me that," Merle shrugs and he shows himself to the table, heavily dropping himself down into one of the chairs as Beth goes to the cabinet for two glasses. "I tend to ignore 'im though. Especially when he says that while he's moonin' away on some girl who just ain't worth the spit in my mouth."

Not exactly a charming way of putting it but Beth can't help but silently agree though she certainly has absolutely no grounds to have any sort of opinion on this matter.

Beth fills the two glasses with the raspberry lemonade and comes to sit at the table. "We've talked about it. Daryl and I about Amy. His feelings can't be like a light switch," she tells the older Dixon, hoping she can gain some understanding for Daryl's feelings.

Merle snorts and pauses to take a long guzzle of lemonade. "And if this was over any other girl in the world, I wouldn' expect him to get over her just like that," he snaps his fingers to emphasize his point. "But it's Amy and there's no reason for him to still be wantin' her."

Beth takes a sip from her own glass. "He's in love with her," she says and ignores the tightening in her stomach as she says the words. Again, she has no right to feel like that even though in the back of her mind, she wonders why she finds herself agreeing with Merle. She doesn't know anything about Daryl and Amy's relationship and she can't pretend that she does.

"Daryl ain't got the first clue as to what a lovin' relationship is," Merle says.

"And you do?" Beth asks him with a raised eyebrow.

Merle just grins at her. "Hell, Doc. Never said I did." He takes another swig of lemonade. "All I know 'bout love is that this whole thing 'tween Daryl and Amy ain't it."

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review!**


	11. Too Much and Not Enough

…

 **Chapter Eleven.**

 _"You're the coolest guy I've ever met, Daryl Dixon," she whispers in his ear once he cuts the engine of the bike and they sit there, her arms seeming reluctant to let go of his waist. Her body is pressed against his and she moves her lips, kissing the corner of his jaw and it's nearing ninety degrees that night but he shivers nonetheless. "I love you," she then smiles._

 _And Daryl turns his head and looks into Amy's face, seeing her smiling at him and feeling his own lips smiling at her in return. No one besides his own mom has ever said those words to him and his stomach clenches so hard now as if he's going to be sick but he keeps looking at her and he can't remember ever being as happy as he is in this moment._

 _Someone loves him. Someone actually loves him._

 _He never takes his eyes off of her. "I love you, too."_

His eyes snap open as if he's waking himself from a nightmare and he lies there, his chest heaving up and down, trying to catch his breath. The room is too warm even though the ceiling fan is on and he can hear that the air-conditioner has kicked on. He begins to kick at the sheet that covers him as if he's trying to free himself from strangling vines, and Louis, sleeping next to him, lifts his head to look at him curiously and see what's wrong.

Daryl sits up and swings his legs over the side of the bed. He jabs his elbows on his knees and rests his head in his hands and he feels Louis get up and sit down at his side. Daryl takes another moment, trying to clear his head of all thoughts. He's sick of that dream. He's had it nearly every night for the past few weeks and he knows he's going to go insane if he has it again. He needs to get it out of his memory but he has no idea how. He doesn't want it in there anymore. Isn't that enough to have it disappear?

He lifts his head and turning it, he looks to Louis. "I gotta get out of here," he tells the dog and Louis simply wags his tail in agreement.

Daryl's as quiet as he can be – which is damn near silent – as he stands up from the bed and gets himself dressed. He doesn't want to wake his mom because Paulie will get up and insist on making him a cup of tea or hot chocolate – despite how hot it is outside tonight – just as she had done when he was younger and had had a bad dream. But the last thing he wants to do is keep his mom awake just because he is. Paulie works too damn hard and doesn't get nearly enough sleep in Daryl's opinion.

Once his jeans and tee-shirt are on, he tugs on his shoes and grabs his crossbow out of habit, slinging the strap over his head and across his chest, settling it against his back, and he doesn't have to gesture for Louis to follow him for the dog to. Daryl can't even think about taking a walk in the middle of the night without Louis joining him.

Daryl holds onto Louis's collar so the medals around his neck don't clink together as they walk down the hallway, heading towards the door that leads into the garage. Will Dixon had effected them all in their own ways but one thing they all have in common from that man is the remaining Dixons are all extremely light sleepers. When the man had been alive and around, they had all liked being on alert – even in their sleep.

He opens the garage door manually and he and Louis step out into the quiet night. It's so hot out, not even the crickets seem to be chirping anymore.

He thinks of Beth in that big house of hers. Alone and probably boiling alive. Merle had come around for dinner earlier that evening and had told him that her heating ducts looked good for the air conditioning unit Daryl was looking at in the hardware store the day before so if Beth wants to buy it, Merle will install it for her because, in Merle's words, there's no reason the Doc should be living in the pits of Hell.

Normally, he would have headed towards Rick's house. He had done it before when he couldn't sleep. He still had a spare key to their house. But he couldn't do that anymore. They had little Judith and he didn't want to wake the baby and Rick and Lori were so damn tired all of the time now, they didn't need him coming in and waking the whole house up.

Seeing Shane was always dangerous because more times than not, he had a girl over and Daryl had already walked in on him once and seeing his friend's bare ass was one time too many for Daryl. Same goes for Merle. Either a girl's with him or some of his friends and Daryl has never been that crazy about any of Merle's friends. He knows Merle can think for himself and no one tells him what to do but Daryl blames his friends for Merle going to prison years earlier; a five-year sentence that had almost killed Paulie in the courtroom.

Everything in their little town closes down by nine – except for the twenty-four hour coffee shop, open mainly for the guys at the cardboard box factory who have second shift, and the couple of bars and at just midnight, Daryl knows that Joe's will still be in full swing. But going to the bar or any bar is the last place in the world Daryl wants to go. So instead, he heads towards the coffee shop. At least it's a direction though he's not crazy about coffee. Maybe he'll get some tea. Paulie has drank tea all her life and she passed the taste for it onto her two sons. He saw Beth's surprise when she had offered him a cup of tea and he had accepted. He knows guys that look like him usually don't drink tea.

He walks down the damn-near silent Main Street, Louis trotting at his side, and he can see the light from the coffee shop up ahead pouring through the front window onto the sidewalk. When he opens the door and the bell jingles, he's not all that surprised to see that the place is completely empty except for the kid working behind the counter. He gives Louis a silent command to stay outside for a moment and the dog plops down on the sidewalk, right in front of the door, waiting for Daryl as he goes inside.

The kid – probably around twenty – is crouched over an open textbook but she lifts her head when she hears Daryl enter. She sees the crossbow on his back and looks nervous until he steps up to the counter and pulling his wallet out, he orders an Earl Grey tea. She nods and turns to fix it for him and Daryl looks around the small shop. The owner, Gareth, has tried to make it look like someone's living room with mismatched overstuffed sofas and chairs scattered around and posters of musicians he didn't know hanging on the walls. He doesn't come in here often. Most of the time, he forgets it's even here, to be honest.

With the girl's back turned, he glances down to the textbook she's reading from. History – one of his better subjects back in school. He doesn't mean to be nosy but he tries to figure out what time period she's studying. He recognizes the famous painting of Atlanta burning and he knows she's studying about the Civil War. Even all of this time later, that's a dangerous thing to be studying – especially in their little town where some people still feel it's being fought.

"$2.50," the girl tells him, handing him the paper cup with the plastic lid snapped securely to the top of it and Daryl hands her exact change. "Have a good night," she then says.

Daryl nods to her. "Good luck with that," he says.

She looks down to her textbook and then laughs softly. "Thanks. I asked my dad earlier to help me study. That was a mistake."

His lips twitch at that. He could just imagine because when he had been studying the unit in high school, Merle hadn't been exactly helpful either.

Leaving the coffee shop, he sips on his tea and Louis stands up, his tail back to wagging, eager for their unexpected late-night adventure to continue. Daryl still has no idea where he's walking to but his brain is too awake right now to even think about going home and getting back to bed. For the time being, he's just going to drink his tea and walk randomly around town. Maybe he'll take Louis into the woods. He's got his crossbow and the moon is bright enough that night, nearly full, and is giving off plenty of light.

He's not sure why he keeps having that dream. He's been able to get through his days lately without thinking of her at all. And he almost hates to admit it, but that's been nice. He and T-Dog work all day, breaking for lunch, and T-Dog is the kind of guy that will talk and crack jokes all day and Daryl finds himself talking back and cracking the occasional smile. T is a good guy to have around when he wants to be distracted from his own mind - which is all of the time lately.

And then, in the evenings, he's been hanging around the house, doing random repairs for his mom or reading. He's always had a library card and he's been taking advantage of it lately. They never had the money to buy books – caring more about food and clothing than luxuries like that – and even though he makes his own money now and, after seeing to the bills, still has some left over to buy himself little extra things, he supposes it's another of those habits left over from his childhood that he just hasn't broken yet. He's read Jack London's books at least four times and he's checked them out once again, working on the fifth time now.

He wonders what the Doc reads. She's smart – she'd have to be if she's a veterinarian – so he wonders if she just reads a bunch of medical textbooks all of the time. Maybe next time he sees her, he'll ask. She has asked him questions – wanting to get to know him – and he guesses that he can do the same thing. Nothing wrong with getting to know her. After all, she's told him that she wants them to be friends and friends get to know one another.

Louis picks up speed next to him, pulling ahead and trotting in front of him, obviously more eager than he had been just a minute ago and Daryl looks to see what has the dog excited. Apparently, thinking about the Doc has Daryl's subconscious leading them towards the farm. Without even realizing it until now, he's heading down the long dirt drive, the white farmhouse looming largely in front of him, practically glowing in the bright moonlight.

Before Daryl can stop him, Louis lets out a happy bark and takes off running. And even if he hadn't wanted to get closer, now, he has no choice because he has to go get his stupid dog.

"Louis!" Daryl hisses at the dog as he gets to the front porch, the dog having already run up the steps and is at the front door, barking again and scratching at the screen door.

If the Doc was sleeping, she's definitely not anymore.

"Louis," Daryl says again, climbing up the porch steps.

He rests his cup on the railing of the porch before grabbing the dog's collar, trying to pull him back, waiting for the porch light to turn on at any second now and Beth to open the door, wondering what they're doing there in the middle of the night. But the house remains quiet and dark and Louis barks again, trying to pull away from Daryl. Something's wrong. The back of his neck pricks and Daryl frowns, letting go of Louis's collar, the dog immediately going back to the front door, scratching and whining.

Maybe she's not home…

But turning, Daryl sees her old pickup truck parked in front of the house, under the tree, where she usually has it parked. He looks back to the front door, Louis more agitated now and it's only adding to Daryl's unease. Why isn't she coming to the door? Daryl raises his fist and begins knocking on the screen door. They're certainly making enough noise. He doesn't ignore his instincts – or Louis's – and right now, both are telling him something is wrong with the Doc. Maybe something that's seriously wrong.

Daryl opens the screen door and knocks on the front door with a heavy fist. "Beth!" He calls out and waits for a few seconds but it's only met with silence.

Being the younger brother of Merle Dixon comes in handy with some things and when Daryl tries turning the knob, finding that it's locked – as it should be – he reaches for his wallet and pulls out his driver's license, one of the few cards he has in there. He kneels down and moves a little so the moon can shine down and give him some light and he begins trying to jimmy the lock open. And he says a silent thanks to his brother for showing him how to do that when the locks clicks and he can turn the knob, swinging the door open.

Louis immediately runs inside and Daryl follows after him.

"Beth!" He calls out again in the dark, silent house, and he can feel the heavy heat hanging in all of the rooms, pressing down on him and trying to smother him like a wool blanket.

They need to go get her that AC unit as soon as the hardware store opens later today. He doesn't know how she's dealing with this. Summers in Georgia are no joke and if a house doesn't have a central air, at least they have a window unit because sometimes, the heat and humidity are too thick and fans can't even cut through it.

Louis runs up the stairs and Daryl doesn't question his dog. He just follows after him.

And in one of the bedrooms, there's Beth. She's lying on the bed, no blankets pulled over her, and there's a fan on her nightstand table, pointing straight towards her but the fan isn't moving. And glancing at the table, Daryl sees that the digital clock isn't on either. He flicks up the light switch on the wall next to the door but no lights come on. Doc's got no power.

Louis begins nudging at her hand with his snout and whines when she doesn't move and Daryl leans over her, seeing her breathe, and he lets out his own breath at seeing that. He doesn't hesitate in slipping his arms underneath her slight frame and easily lifting her up. And knowing what he's doing, Louis runs from the bedroom, again leading the way.

Outside, it's hot as hell but nothing like the inferno that's the inside of the farmhouse right now, and Daryl carries Beth straight for her truck. It's unlocked and he slides her into the front passenger seat before heading back towards the front door, closing it once again. She still hasn't woken up and Daryl tries to ignore the worry squeezing his stomach. At least he's found her and gotten her out of the house.

He pulls the back door down so Louis can jump into the back bed and Daryl puts the crossbow back there, too, before climbing into truck behind the wheel. He has the truck hot-wired within seconds and as he drives down the dirt drive, his foot heavy on the gas pedal, he turns on the air and directs all of the vents towards the Doc as she remains unconscious next to him.

…

Daryl wakes up to feeling the warmth of the sun on his face and hearing a soft giggle. And before he even opens his eyes, his neck is screaming at him. That helps him remember what happened and where he is. He had driven Beth straight to the 24-hour urgent care in town where the doctor immediately diagnosed her with heat exhaustion. They had gotten Beth into a room and Daryl had stayed out in the hall as they changed her from her pajamas into a gown and then, once in bed, they hooked her up to an IV to pump fluids back into her body to help with the dehydration.

The night nurse on duty, Lily, had asked him if he was going to stay and he had nodded without even stopping to think about it. He couldn't just leave her. She hadn't woken up yet and when she did, she was probably going to be scared and confused and Daryl wanted to be here in case his presence helped in keeping her calm.

His eyes flutter open and he finds himself slunk down into the chair next to the bed that he had fallen asleep in a few hours earlier. He slowly sits up and gingerly moves his neck, trying to work out the painful kink it has gotten from the awkward position he had fallen asleep in. Beth is awake, sitting up in the bed, looking wide awake – her eyes bright and color on her cheeks – and Lily is taking her pulse.

"Good morning," Beth says, looking to Daryl when she sees that he's awake.

"Mornin'," he grunts and then leans forward a bit. "How she doin'?" He asks Lily.

Lily smiles. "Would you get this girl an air conditioner? As much as I like Dr. Greene, I don't ever want to see her here again."

Beth smiles and her cheeks get noticeably pinker at that. "Thank you, Lily," she says to the nurse as the woman leaves the room. And once they're alone, Beth's eyes immediately go to Daryl. "I am so embarrassed," she says and that's not what Daryl was at all expecting her to say.

"For wha'?" He frowns with his brow furrowed.

"For passing out like that…" she looks down to her hands for a moment, her fingers fidgeting in her lap. She looks at him again after a moment. "I can't thank you enough for everything you did for me-"

He shakes his head before she can say anything else. He hadn't done anything special. He had just done what any other normal decent person would do if they found her. He admits that now that she's awake and despite sitting in a hospital bed, wearing a hospital gown with an IV in a vein in her arm, she looks so much like herself again, Daryl can feel himself breathing a little easier and his stomach is no longer clenched painfully.

"Where's Louis?" He asks, looking around, realizing the dog is no longer in there with him.

Beth smiles. "I think the nurses are going to be keeping him for themselves," she says and his lips twitch in a little smirk at that. She reaches out then and he goes still as her hand slides over his. He hadn't realized he was sitting that close to the bed. "Thank you, Daryl," she says in a soft voice and he slowly lifts his eyes from looking down at her hand over his to look into her face.

Damn, she's even pretty while wearing a blue hospital gown.

Without thinking about it or saying anything in response, he turns his hand over and holding hers, he gives it a squeeze.

"Me and T-Dog are goin' to your house today to work on the generator. It wasn' workin' when I was there last night and I'll give the power company a call to see what was goin' on with the electricity," he says. She opens her mouth – probably to argue – but he won't let her and he presses on. "And I'm also bringin' T with me and we're gonna buy you that AC unit today from the hardware store. Merle told me yesterday, after he checked your air ducts, that you're all set and he'll install it himself so you don't have to pay the store's installation fee."

"Daryl, no," Beth says with a shake of her head. "That is _way_ too much for you to do."

Daryl ignores her protests and can't help but give her hand another squeeze. If anyone asks him his opinion, it doesn't seem like enough.

"Beth!"

Rosita rushes into the room then, her arms full of flowers and balloons, and Spencer is right on her heels. Daryl slides his hand from Beth's and stands up as Rosita and Spencer both go the bed, hugging and kissing Beth and asking over one another if she's alright. And then Spencer is slapping a hand on Daryl's shoulder and Rosita is hugging him and Daryl wants to ask them how they found out already about Beth being here but he doesn't bother. Small town. Even if something happens just a few hours earlier in the middle of the night, everyone always finds out in just a short time after that. It's the magic of small Southern towns.

"And this is from Paulie," Rosita says, setting a Styrofoam take-out box on the table that is wheeled over Beth's knees. "She called me earlier and had us stop at the diner before coming over here and said she baked this especially for you this morning." She looks to Daryl. "And she told me to tell you to come and see her as soon as he leave here today."

Daryl nods, already knowing what his mom wants to talk with him about – her first question probably being what he was doing at the Doc's house in the middle of the night. And that's one question that hours later, Daryl still doesn't have an answer to.

They all look and even before Beth flips the lid of the box open, Daryl somehow already knows what it is.

Inside, there's a thick slab of coconut cake.

…

* * *

 **Paulie and Amy will both be in the next chapter.**

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to comment!**


	12. Dream a Little Dream

**I made a couple of changes and Paulie will be more in the _next_ chapter. Also, some have been really harsh towards Daryl and you are absolutely entitled to your opinion. Just try to understand where he's coming from. Also, since this chapter is from Beth's POV, please remember that what she thinks of Daryl might not necessarily be true. Thank you so much for all of the support you have been giving this story. I still can't quiet believe it. **

* * *

…

 **Chapter Twelve.**

Beth looks down to the little Cairn Terrier on the metal table in front of her and then to the man standing across from her, looking nervous.

"How does he look?" Rick asks.

Beth doesn't answer straight away. First, she checks the puppy's ears and listens to his heart and then gently inspects his teeth and gums. She looks over his little paws and pads and his nails and then runs her hands down his body, searching for bumps or other abnormalities before gently holding his tail out.

"He seems very healthy," Beth says as she hangs her stethoscope around her neck once again and Rick lets out a breath of relief at that. Beth nearly smiles. "Has Lori killed you yet?" She asks.

"Not yet," Rick answers with a slight smirk pulling at his lips. "But she told me to come and bring him to you right away for you to check out."

"And what made you get a puppy when you have a newborn?" Beth finally has to ask, going to the counter to get the puppy a treat because what she has to do next will not be fun for him. She scratches her hands behind his floppy ears – not having pointed into their usual triangle shape yet – and the puppy wags his tail happily as he crunches on the little Milkbone she has fed him.

He is so adorable, but Beth admits she was surprised when Rick had called her first thing that morning, asking if he could bring a puppy to see her. He and Lori had _just_ had a baby a few months ago and everyone knows that little Judith is exhausting them. Their older son, Carl, is nearly in high school and they're not used to having a little newborn in the house. And now, Rick has spontaneously bought a puppy to add to their already hectic home? Having a puppy is like having another child in many aspects and that's not something that a lot people understand when they bring one into their lives.

She knows Rick's not an idiot but she hopes Rick knows what he's getting into.

Rick shrugs to her question. "Got him for Carl mostly. He's at that age… just don't want him to feel like he's any less important to his mom and me now that Judy's here."

Beth nods at that. That's more understandable than some people would probably think. Apparently, when she had been born, daddy had gotten both Maggie and Shawn kittens.

She gives the puppy one more ear rub and then goes back to the counter, opening one of the drawers, pulling out packages of syringe needles. As she returns to the table, she hears banging of tools against the metal ducts from the basement and a murmur of voices talking.

"How's it going down there?" Rick asks.

"Good, I think," Beth answers with a smile. "No one's come up to tell me yet to call an ambulance, so I'm taking that as a good sign."

They had arrived that morning just as she had finished getting dressed for the day. Daryl, Merle and T-Dog with her new AC unit, ready to be installed. And after she gave them cups of coffee and strips of bacon, they had begun their work and have been at it for the past few hours. Beth wants to go down and check up on them and see if they need anything but this isn't the first air conditioning unit Merle has installed and he has Daryl and T-Dog helping him out. She wouldn't want to get in their way.

And honestly… it's hard for her to be around Daryl right now. Despite what he said to her, she _is_ embarrassed. She had passed out and he had swept her up in his arms and taken her to urgent care and it's embarrassing because she grew up in this house. Her daddy and mom lived in this house without air conditioning and they never passed out.

At the clinic, Lily had mentioned something about this being one of the hottest recorded summers that Georgia has seen in decades but that had done little in making Beth feel better. The truth is, she fainted and Daryl had come to her rescue and it's embarrassing that he had to rescue her from anything. She's perfectly capable of taking care of herself and for some reason, she doesn't want to appear weak in Daryl's eyes.

"And you're feeling alright?" Rick asks and she feel his eyes looking at her closely.

Beth nods and makes sure to give him her best smile. She may have lived in Atlanta for a few years to go to school, but she's never forgotten how small this town of theirs is. Ever since she got home from the clinic, not having even spent twelve hours in that bed, the phone calls and visitors have seemed to be constant. She thinks it's sweet; everyone wanting to come and check on her. But it only adds to her embarrassment.

"Alright, little guy," she says after she unwraps the syringes. "I promise, this will only hurt for a second and you'll get another treat afterwards."

She is quick to give the puppy the booster shots he is in need of and he yelps as Beth holds him gingerly, murmuring to him that he is such a good boy. She throws the needles out in the proper disposal can and then goes to get him another little Milkbone treat.

"You and Lori really need to give this little guy a name. Shouldn't Carl name him?" Beth asks as she returns to the table and Rick is holding the puppy now in his arms. She holds out the treat and it seems as if the puppy has already forgotten all about his shots because he wags his tail and takes the treat eagerly.

There's a knock on the closed examination room door and she goes to answer it, opening it to see that it's Daryl. His hair seems darker, plastered to his head with sweat, and he's wearing a blue tee-shirt that has obvious sweat marks staining it; his tool belt hanging around his waist.

He looks at her and Beth does her best to keep her eyes on his. She doesn't want him to know how uncomfortable she is now while around him. He keeps seeing her at her weakest – calling him for help with the water pumps, seeing her crying in the kitchen as she thought of her parents, finding her passed out in her bed – and she feels as if they are no longer on even standing ground and she can't help but wonder what his opinion of her is.

"Everything alright?" She asks him.

"Hey, man," Rick says, coming up behind Beth.

"Hey," Daryl says to Rick with a slight head nod and seems a little surprised to see him there before he's able to mask his face once more. "That's new," he then says, looking to the puppy in Rick's arms.

"Yeah, got it a couple of days ago for Carl," Rick answers. "What do you think?"

Daryl looks at the little terrier puppy for a moment and then nods slightly. "'s tiny," he says after a moment and Beth nearly smiles.

She thinks it's odd that Daryl and Rick's conversation seems so jilted. She knows they are best friends but they're certainly not speaking with one another as if they are. Daryl hadn't even known that Rick had gotten a puppy a few days ago.

"Was there something you needed help with?" Beth asked, putting Daryl's attention on her once again.

"'s 'bout lunchtime. Merle, T and me are gonna head out for somethin' to eat. Was wonderin' if you wanna come with us?" Daryl asks and she tells herself to keep her eyes on him even though he's staring at her too closely and her stomach is flipping around all over the place.

She looks past him to see that the waiting room is empty. Rick was her last scheduled appointment before lunch and she doesn't have her next one until two o'clock. But someone might come or call in that time, in need of her. She really needs to get someone who can answer the phones when she's not able to.

"We won't be long and 's too hot to stay here," Daryl then says as if he's able to detect her hesitancy in leaving.

And she's back to look into his face. He's now taking it upon himself to make sure she'll eat something; as if she's not a grown woman perfectly capable of taking care of herself. But, Beth reminds herself, he _doesn't_ know that she can take care of herself because every time he sees her, she's in need of some kind of help from him.

She nearly sighs. She hadn't wanted a friendship with him like this. She had wanted them to have a friendship with one another where they are equals; where they can both benefit from it. So far, it seems as if Daryl has done nothing except rescue Beth and she hasn't been able to do anything for him in return other than pull porcupine needles from his dog. But that's her job and she loves Louis so she doesn't count that.

"Sounds good," Beth does her best to smile and Daryl's still looking at her and she wonders if this man is actually capable of reading her thoughts.

God, she hopes not. Some of the things she's imagined concerning Daryl Dixon, Daryl should _never_ know about them.

After working out Rick's invoice and swiping his credit card, accepting payment, Rick takes the puppy and says goodbye to both of them, heading outside to his Sheriff's car parked out front. And when he's gone, Beth goes to clean up the examination room and tries to ignore the tingles she gets from feeling Daryl's eyes on her. The room has a ceiling fan as well as a few portable fans blowing that makes it tolerable – she tries to keep it the coolest room in the house – but it's not _that_ cold and yet, she still feels like shivering.

She lifts her head and looks at Daryl, managing to give him a smile. "How is it going down there?" She asks as she throws the Clorox wipes into the trash.

"Should get it all finished up this afternoon," Daryl answers, his eyes never leaving hers. "If we ain't finished though… my ma says you're more than welcome to come to her house tonight and sleep. We got an extra room there," he tells her.

Beth's smile is easier and more genuine at that. "That's so nice of her to offer. Rosita and Spencer have offered, too. I'm lucky to have more than one person in my life who is willing to put up with me if I need it."

Daryl frowns a little at that but she's not sure why and she doesn't ask what he's thinking.

"Is everything alright between you and Rick?" She hears herself ask instead.

Daryl looks at her with a slightly furrowed brow. "Why you wonderin' that?" He asks.

She shrugs. "I don't know," she quickly shakes her head. "I was probably just imagining something that isn't there at all. I have a bad habit of doing that."

She lets the sentence hang in the air for a moment longer before she turns away, going to her desk to finish making a new file folder for the Grimes' puppy, still without a name.

"Nah. You ain't imaginin' anythin'," Daryl speaks quietly and Beth lifts her head to look at him. His thumbs are hooked into his tool belt and he shrugs, glancing down to the floor before back to her. "Still my best friend. Things are just a lil' different 'tween us now. He's got a wife and a boy and a baby and my girlfriend jus' broke up with me. Don't seem like we have that much in common anymore."

Beth nods, understanding immediately. "It was like that with me and Rosita. We were best friends in high school but then we graduated and I went off to Atlanta and she stayed here and we just drifted apart. But now, I'm back and it's like we were never apart. Maybe it will be like that for you and Rick again someday."

Daryl shrugs at that. "Maybe," he says non-committedly and she can't tell if he is worried about him and Rick staying friends or not. Daryl is such an impossible man to read. "You 'bout ready to go?" He asks. "Keepin' Merle from eatin' when he's hungry ain't the smartest thing in the world to do."

Beth feels like laughing a little at that – so she does. And from the corner of her eye as they leave the exam room, she sees Daryl looking at her with his lips twitching in a small smile.

…

Daryl and T-Dog both want to go to the Chinese buffet in town but Merle has a taste for an omelet and damn it, he's the one doing most of the work putting in the Doc's AC, as he informs them all with a frown, and that means they're going to the diner for breakfast.

The diner is a bit crowded as it usually is for lunch but there's a booth open and after making sure Louis is in the truck bed and stays there, they make their way to it. Beth finds herself hesitating, wondering who will sit where, but the three men don't seem to have that same concern over seating charts. T-Dog slides into one side of the booth and Merle grabs a chair from a nearby table that isn't being used and he drags it over, sitting down at the head of the table, and Daryl looks to Beth, silently gesturing for her to slide in. She does, sliding close to the wall, sitting across from T-Dog, and Daryl slides in next to her.

"Hey, kids," Paulie comes up to their table with a smile and four menus, addressing them as if they are teenagers on vacation from the high school and enjoying the summer. "How's it goin' over at the Doc's place?" She asks, taking the menu back that Merle is already handing back to her without looking it over.

"She'll be going to sleep tonight, wearing layers," T-Dog grins and he gives Beth a quick wink and Beth smiles in return.

"Glad to hear it," Paulie nods, her smile still in place, and she looks to Beth. "I'm excited for you, Doc."

Beth smiles and nods. "I can't wait," she says and she really can't.

She hasn't had air-conditioning since her apartment in Atlanta and she never would have thought that it would be something she would miss. She didn't miss much from living in the city. Even years of going to school there, Beth never felt as if she truly ever belonged there. The desire to live in a small town pulsed through her and everywhere in Atlanta was too big and too crowded and traffic was so terrible, it took an hour to make any kind of distance. Her apartment had been nice and it had been nice to not have a lawn to worry about mowing or gutters to clean or leaves to rake in the fall. But even in all of the years she had lived there, it had never felt like home should feel.

She had returned for her daddy's funeral and had – reluctantly – returned to Atlanta for her two weeks remaining of school before graduation and then, with Maggie, Glenn and Shawn helping, packed her apartment up and she moved back here as quickly as she could.

She had made friends in Atlanta – her mom always said that it's just her personality. Beth can make friends anywhere. And she finds herself wondering if they ever think about her or even sometimes miss her. And Beth wonders if she should feel guilty because she never thinks about them – not until this very moment – and she certainly doesn't miss them.

After daddy died and she inherited the practice that they should have shared – together – Beth moved back here, determined to start her life. And she has done that – for the most part. She has the house and it's so much work, it's almost scary when she thinks about it, but it's more home than any other place has ever felt. She has connected with old friends – Rosita and Spencer and even Zach in some sense – and she has made some new ones. Examples of those new friends at this table with her – at least she thinks they're friends. She actually has no idea. Not even concerning Daryl anymore. She just doesn't know if she's comfortable around him anymore to be friends.

They order their food and Paulie leaves to go put their order in with Dale and Merle immediately takes charge of the conversation because that's just who Merle is. Beth tries to concentrate on what's being said – Merle and T-Dog are arguing about something and T-Dog is threatening to crush Merle's ignorant head in but Beth doesn't hear any bite in the man's voice and Merle just laughs at the threat – but she can't seem to focus on anything other than Daryl sitting right next to her.

Their bodies aren't touching but she can feel the heat radiating from his body onto hers. He has taken his tool belt off and left it in the truck and the short sleeves of his tee-shirt have ridden up his arms a little. She is doing her best to look at anything besides those biceps. Those biceps which had carried her from her house and into the urgent care. Those biceps that had held Louis strongly yet gently on her table as she pulled needles from his snout.

She has ordered a Diet Coke and Paulie has returned, setting everyone's drinks down in front of them. Beth hopes she doesn't seem to be too eager to dunk her straw in and take a greedy sip. She desperately needs to wet her throat though and clear her mind of those thoughts.

Daryl is so much more than just a pair of ridiculously sexy arms.

She wishes she knew what Daryl thought of her. Of course, with everything she's put him through just over the past couple of weeks, maybe she _doesn't_ want to know.

"So, Doc, wha's the firs' thing you're gonna do tonight with the cold air blowin'?" Merle asks her with a grin across his face. "And don't feel like you need to keep any of the naked details from us jus' to be polite."

More than being offended, Beth blushes and feels herself wanting to laugh and Merle grins, too. Daryl leans over and punches his brother so hard on the arm, Beth swears that _she_ can feel it but Merle just keeps on grinning and now, T-Dog is grinning, too.

But then the smiles are almost immediately gone when the door opens and someone else enters the diner. Merle is looking, his eyes slightly narrowed and his face screwed into a scowl and even T-Dog is frowning unpleasantly and Beth can't remember ever seeing the man frown before this moment.

She turns and looks over her shoulder and because of the reaction from the others, she doesn't find herself that surprised to see that Amy has walked in, Randall behind her, and Amy scans the diner for a moment, looking for an empty table.

Beth glances over to Daryl next to her but he's not looking. He's not even tense. He's just taking sips from his glass of Coke and fixing his eyes on a spot on the wall behind T's head. He knows Amy's in there now. It would be impossible for him not to know. Not only because of Merle and T-Dog's frowns and the anger practically radiating off of them – Beth admires their loyalty to their brother and friend – but because Amy is staring right over at their table once her eyes see them and there's no way that Daryl can't feel that.

Beth can't help but glance back over the top of the booth, towards the door where Amy is still standing, and when she sees, Beth nearly gasps. She quickly faces forward again and stares at her drink in front of her, pretending she can't feel Daryl now looking at her or feel eyes burning a hole in the back of her neck.

Because Amy isn't looking at Daryl. Amy's looking straight at her. And she doesn't look happy with her at all.

…

She knows Merle was just teasing her in the diner earlier but that night, with the newly installed air conditioner cooling the entire house, Beth strips herself naked and crawls onto her bed, lying down on top of the covers. With a contended sigh, she closes her eyes and smiles to herself. The house has never felt better to her.

Around her, it's quiet. Even if she lived in town, it would be quiet but not like this. Out here on the farm, there's nothing but crickets chirping and the occasional hoot of an owl and the wind rustling the leaves in the trees outside her window. And the sound of the air conditioning running. She has air conditioning now. And it is so amazing and wonderful and she knows they did for so many years but how did people survive in Georgia before air conditioning was even invented?

She has never slept naked before and she knows she'll get too cold for that but already, she feels herself beginning to drift off. Being in her comfy bed with the cold air sweeping over her, she feels completely relaxed and she realizes how poorly she's been sleeping during the nights with the heat weighing down on her like stones.

She keeps her eyes closed and she smiles to herself as she feel lips gently press to the side of her throat, facial hair gently scratching her.

"Mmmmm, Daryl," she moans softly and his lips turn upwards into a small smile.

She turns her head to the side to give him better access and his lips follow the colum on the side of her neck, heading towards her shoulder. His lips sweep across her collar bone as if he's following a marked map, and heads up the other side of her neck. She lifts her hands and runs them down his chest and discovers that he's not wearing a shirt. She can feel the warmth of his bare skin and she wants to open her eyes to look at him but she finds herself unable to; as if her eyelids are glued shut. But that's alright, she decides because he's warm and heavy on top of her and she can feel the cool air blowing over both of them and his lips are warm and wet on her skin.

She moans again and arches beneath him and his lips move, brushing over her chin and then down the bridge of her nose that makes her giggle.

"Yeah," he murmurs. "Amy always liked when I did that, too."

Beth gasps and her eyes snap open, flying into a sitting position. For a moment, she looks around her dark bedroom as if she has no idea where she is and her heart is beating rapidly. The air conditioner has stopped running for the moment and as expected, she is too cold now. She's able to slip beneath the covers without standing up from the bed and once beneath them, she rolls onto her side, bringing her knees to her chest. Her heart is still racing but she focuses on breathing, inhaling and exhaling deeply. Her nipples are in such hard points, they are almost hurting and the ache between her thighs is no better. She swears she can still feel the dream of his lips on her neck. And she can still hear his gruff, low voice in her ear.

 _"Amy."_

That name over and over and no matter how hard she clenches her eyes shut, Beth can't get his voice to stop repeating it in her mind.

She has always firmly believed that every dream means something and while she's not an expert at dream interpretation, she supposes this one is pretty easy to make a stab at. She has a crush on Daryl Dixon. And he will never be able look at her and not see his ex-girlfriend.

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to leave a review!**


	13. Roommate Wanted

**If you follow me on Tumblr, you're aware of what I've been going through in response to my writing and some comments that have been made. Thank you so much to those who were able to make me feel a little bit better. Some of you saw this chapter coming since this story began so i guess my stories are just becoming too formulaic and predictable. I don't know what to do about that.**

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...

 **Chapter Thirteen.**

"Hmmmm," Paulie says as she sits across from him at the table in the kitchen, reading the town newspaper that is printed only every Sunday and Wednesday.

It's a little paper, filled with the bit of news that happens in their quiet town and in the county and sometimes in Atlanta, too, if it pertains to any of them. A lot of it are announcements – school board meetings or town hall meetings or reminders to buy tickets for the high school musical. Birthday wishes, funerals, weddings and baptisms. Whatever protest is coming up in the Commons. When Beth had moved back to town, they ran a story on the front page about how she was taking over her pop's veterinary practice.

Paulie doesn't work at the diner on Sundays and in the mornings, she and Daryl sit at the table, eating breakfast and drinking coffee together and Paulie reads the paper and sometimes, Merle drops in for something to eat if he's able to wake himself up early enough to make it.

Daryl lifts his head from his plate, still chewing on his mouthful of French toast. Paulie's eyes are on the paper open in front of her and despite her tone, he doubts anything she's reading is that interesting. The story on the front page is about more people experiencing overturned garbage cans and it's either a few wild raccoons or a few wild kids doing it. Not exactly hard-hitting news.

But he decides to take the bait anyway. "Wha'?" He asks and Paulie gives him a look because he's talking with his mouth full but she seems to go against lecturing him right now. Instead, she leans forward and shakes out the paper, setting it down in front of him and then pointing to one of the little boxes on the ads page in the back of the paper.

It takes his eyes a second to focus on what she wants him to read and when he does read over the printed words, he can't help but frown a little.

 **Searching for Roommate! Male or Female. Someone to help with basic maintenance of a big, old farmhouse. Non-smoker preferred but not important. MUST LOVE ANIMALS! Please contact Beth Greene if interested.**

"What the hell?" Daryl can't stop himself from muttering.

He reads the ad three more times, his scowl growing deeper each time. He then lifts his head to look at his mom, who's watching him.

"What the hell she doin'?" Daryl almost demands as if Paulie knew anything about this and will now have some sort of explanation.

Paulie just gives him that smile she sometimes gives her sons; when she thinks she knows something they don't, and in Paulie's mind, that is often. "Looks like the Doc is lookin' for a roommate," she states what he already knows before taking the newspaper back so she can finish reading it.

"What the hell for?" Daryl is almost growling now, still frowning, and he's not too sure why he's feeling a mixture of being upset and angry right now. So Beth is looking for a roommate. So what? That doesn't have anything to do with him.

And yet, he sits there and can't stop himself from still frowning. He has had no idea that she's been looking for a roommate. Of course, it's been more than a week since he last saw her. He's really had no reason to. She hasn't called him for anything and Louis has been fit and healthy so he hasn't had to take him to see her. And he hasn't really felt comfortable with just stopping by. She considers him a friend – and he considers the same about her – but he's not an idiot. Something's going on with her and she hasn't wanted to talk about it and instead, she has seemed almost uncomfortable around him all of a sudden so Daryl's respected what she's clearly been wanting even if she hasn't said it and he's stayed away.

It's probably because she's freaked out that he had been in her house in the middle of the night for some reason. When she had asked, he said that he had just been walking but he still doesn't know if she believes him or not.

"You think you might contact her?" Paulie asks, peering at him from over the top of the paper and he may not be able to see the lower part of her face but he can tell she's smiling.

"What the hell for?" Daryl asks again, still growling, still frowning and he doesn't know why he's reacting this way but whatever the reason is, he can't get himself to stop.

Without finishing the rest of his French toast, he gets up and scrapes it into Louis's bowl, the dog more than happy to help him eat his breakfast. Daryl then takes his plate to the sink to wash it off and load it into the dishwasher – a Christmas present from him and Merle to Paulie a couple of years earlier that she hadn't been able to return to the store.

He didn't know Beth is looking for a roommate and that's bothering him more than he understands. It shouldn't bother him at all. He and Doc are friends but what she does definitely isn't any business of his just like it's none of hers what he does; even though the town always seems privy to what should be his private business. If she wants to put an ad in the paper and get every single creepy ass guy in the area, panting after her and wanting to live with her, that's her problem.

"Daryl," Paulie says his name once he returns to the table with another cup of coffee and he sits down in his seat across from him. "How long are you goin' to be stayin' here?"

Daryl's entire body goes instantly tense as he stares at his mother.

And she is quick to shake her head. "Don't look at me like that. I love havin' you here. You know that. And this is your home as much as mine and you are welcome to stay forever."

"Then why am I gettin' the feelin' that you wan' me to get the hell out of here?" He frowns.

Paulie's frown matches his. "'cause you have a terrible habit of assumin' things. You've always done that." She exhales a deep breath. "I bring it up 'cause I know you, Daryl, and I know you ain't happy right now, bein' here."

"'course I ain't happy," Daryl grumbles but even as he says that, he's not too sure if that's actually the truth anymore.

It's been almost six weeks since he moved out of Amy's house and except for those annoying dreams at night, he now has reached a point where he's able to go through an entire day without thinking about her. He and Rick might not hang out as much anymore but he's got his brother and T-Dog and the Doc and her friends… The other day when Amy had come into the diner, Daryl had known she was in there. Even if everyone hadn't been frowning at something behind him, he would still be able to feel her presence nearby. But he hadn't even tensed up like he had still been doing just a couple of weeks earlier.

Someone might think that as him beginning to move on.

And Daryl might not find himself arguing with that.

"All I meant was that you're almost forty-years-old and I don't know too many forty-year-old men who still wanna be livin' at home with their mama," Paulie says. "Well, except Corey Creeker down the street but you know he ain't been right in the head since comin' back from California."

Daryl almost smirks at that but takes a sip of coffee instead. He feels Paulie's eyes on him but he turns his head and looks at Louis instead, still at his bowl, the French toast long gone but some of the maple syrup has dribbled onto his other food and he's crunching on his kibble. He turns his head and looks at Daryl, giving him a wag of his tail before diving his head back into his bowl once more.

"Was thinkin' of maybe lookin' into buildin' somethin' for myself," Daryl mutters, staring into his coffee almost as if saying the idea out loud is somehow embarrassing.

"Like your own house?" Paulie asks and Daryl lifts his eyes because he can hear her smiling and sure enough, she is. "I think that's an amazin' idea, Daryl. If anyone can build their own house, it's you. You can build anythin'.

Even a compliment from his mom makes the tips of his ears turn red and he lowers his eyes once more back down to his cup of coffee.

He has always had his mom loving him. There was Will, beating the shit out of her and him whenever he got the chance to, but there was also Paulie and after the beatings, she was there, crying and saying how sorry she was and tending to Daryl's cuts and bruises. He knows what love is because of his mom.

There have always been things that he's wanted to ask her. Why did she marry Will Dixon? Why did she stay with him? She's one of the toughest women Daryl knows but why did she stay and let that man beat up on them? But Daryl's never asked. Maybe he knows that Paulie won't give him answers. Or maybe, deep down, he's too scared to know the answers.

"Not gonna start buildin' it tomorrow," Daryl feels the need to tell her. "Need the money and permits and…" he trails off and shrugs. It does sound like a good idea. Building his own house, but there's a lot of time and money that goes into something like that and right now, he doesn't have too much of either.

After breakfast, Paulie stays in the kitchen to clean up. Sunday's her cleaning house day and she prefers Daryl and Louis to be somewhere else while she's doing it. So, Daryl grabs his crossbow and Louis begins jumping around him, knowing they're going hunting today.

"Any requests?" Daryl asks his mom before they leave.

"I've got some parsnips. You get me a rabbit, I'll roast everything up for dinner," she says.

Daryl nods and heads out the back door, Louis on his heels but then breaking into a run, pulling ahead, stopping every few feet to look back at Daryl and let out an eager bark as if to tell him to hurry the hell up.

On Sundays in the warm months, there is a little farmer's market set up in the Commons with farms from all over coming to set up their booths and sell their goods. And heading to the woods takes Daryl and Louis right through town. Louis is trotting ahead but he slows down, looking at all of the people in the park, and then he lets out a happy bark, tearing off across the street.

"Louis!" Daryl yells after him because that damn dog could get hit by car, just running into the street like that, but thankfully, not too many people are driving that morning and the dog reaches the park without any horns blaring or brakes screaming.

Daryl jogs after him, muttering colorful cruse words to call Louis now instead of his name, but he slows down when he sees where the dumb mutt has gone. Or rather, _who_ he's gone to. And he's not surprised in the least to see the Doc. She is still wearing her dress from church earlier that morning – a pretty white dress with colorful flowers and it shows off her shoulders and hangs to her knees but still shows off plenty of leg – and her feet are bare, the heels she has taken off and carrying in her hand now on the ground beside her as she laughs and beams as she kneels in the warm grass to greet Louis in return.

It almost makes Daryl nervous when he thinks about how pretty the Doc is. He used to think Amy was the most beautiful girl he's ever seen, but he has accepted that as not really being the truth anymore. Now that he's away from her, it's like his brain is able to think again. He knows there's more than a person's looks and with everything Amy's done to him, maybe that's why he's able to think she's not so pretty anymore.

Beth lifts her eyes when she sees Daryl coming to stand in front of her and she smiles when she does. "Hi!" She greets and she sounds happy to see him and it almost makes him want to ask her why she hasn't called him to the house in a week now if she is, in fact, happy to see him and hasn't been avoiding him.

He wants to ask why the hell she's looking for a roommate to help her with the house when that's what he's been doing.

But he doesn't ask her anything. Instead, he just grunts a "Hey," in response.

Beth kisses Louis' snout and she then gets back to her feet, taking her heels again, hanging them from her fingers in one hand and Daryl notices she has one of those nylon shopping sacks in her other.

"How are you?" She asks.

Daryl shrugs. "Same ol'," he answers, never taking his eyes from her. "How's the air-conditioner?" He then asks.

And her smile, if possible, seems to grow even wider. "Ah-mazing," she says almost with a giggle in her tone and Daryl's own lips feel like twitching in a smile. She spots the crossbow slung across his back. "You two off hunting?" She guesses.

Daryl nods. "Ma wants a rabbit to roast tonight for dinner." He then nods his head towards the bag in her hand. "Get anythin' good?" He asks and he realizes after a second that he's attempting to make small talk with her and he's not sure why.

He's never made small talk with anyone. Either he has something to say or he doesn't and he's never cared about carrying on a conversation or keeping the silence filled with chatter.

But he realizes something; something that confuses the hell out of him but something that's nonetheless the truth.

He's missed talking with her over the past week.

Beth keeps smiling. "Just a couple containers of strawberries. And I was heading to Jacqui's stand. She's selling her puff pastries today and I actually would get these insane cravings for those when I was away at school. So, I'm sure I'm going to be going Godzilla at her booth in a few minutes."

Again, Daryl nearly smiles at that.

"Haven't had one of those in a long time," he then hears himself say out loud.

"Would you like to join me? Or do you need to go after your rabbit?" Beth asks him.

Daryl looks at her for a moment as if he needs to think over his answer.

He gets the feeling that even if he doesn't go to the woods right now, he'll still be going after his rabbit.

And that thought both confuses him and scares him a little, too.

…

Jacqui is nearly sold out by the time he and Beth are able to buy one each of the remaining puffs she's got left. Like everyone in town knows that Paulie makes some of the best cakes, everyone also knows that Jacqui's puff pastries are on an entirely different level from anyone else who might make the attempt to make them. The only problem is that she doesn't make them that often and when she does, word seems to spread fast.

With their pastries, they slowly make their way through the rest of the booths, him pausing when Beth does to look over something someone else is selling. She winds up buying a small jar of rhubarb jam and a single sunflower in a painted pot, which Daryl takes a hold for her and she gives him that grateful smile of hers that he recognizes now.

Spending time with Beth like this, just hanging out – like he supposes two friends to – is just easy. There's nothing really to it. Just two people, two friends, hanging out. He's never been that comfortable around the opposite sex. Always too awkward and shy and he supposes that's part of why he was drawn to Amy. He never felt either of those things with her for some reason. And now, with Beth, he doesn't feel those things either. She asks him questions and he allows himself to answer before asking her questions in return and when he's with her, he just feels comfortable. And that's how it's supposed to be between friends.

Leaving the booths and other people, they then head across the grass towards the fountain and sit side by side along the edge. Some kids are splashing around in the fountain on the other side of the Stonewall Jackson statue and while it's not really permitted, kids do it all of the time and no one has ever really stopped them. Beth turns around and sinks her bare feet into the water, the goldfish hurrying away as she does.

Daryl lifts the fluffy, flaky pastry to his mouth and takes a bite, unable to help from moaning a little as he does. Beth giggles a little and then takes her own bite of hers, moaning as well.

"I know, technically, it's just butter and dough but it's just so darn good," Beth says and Daryl nods in agreement, ripping off a corner and tossing it to Louis, the dog begging at his feet and catching the offering in his mouth.

"So, why the hell you lookin' for a roommate?" Daryl then asks out of nowhere, surprising Beth and damn near startling himself with the abruptness of it.

Beth's head whips to look at him beside her but Daryl makes sure he keeps looking at Louis in front of him, begging for another bit of puff pastry. Daryl doesn't give him any though. He needs to watch him and all of the "people food" he's been giving him lately.

"You saw the ad then?" Beth guesses.

"My mom showed it to me this mornin'," Daryl says with a nod of his head and then, though he still really doesn't want to, he turns his head and looks at her. "Why you lookin' for a roommate?" He asks again.

Beth is quiet for a moment and then shrugs. "I'm lonely, I suppose. That house is so big and when Otis goes home at night, it's just me and it can get so quiet out there."

That sounds pretty perfect to him but Daryl knows the Doc's not like him. Not everyone likes being surrounded by nothing.

"And a house that big… it's a lot of work," she finishes.

Daryl frowns though he really doesn't mean to. "Thought I was helpin' you with that."

"You were," Beth quickly says as if to assure him. "I just felt bad, calling you with every little problem. I should be able to handle it without calling you. I normally don't depend on people like that and I…" she trails off then so he's not sure what else she wanted to say.

Daryl finishes his pastries in just a couple more bites and wipes his hands on the thighs of his jeans. "Got any calls?" He asks, looking back to her.

She's picking at her pastry, not eating it and no longer looking happy to have gotten one. She nods. "A couple of people have already, which surprised me because the ad just started running today and it's Sunday morning. I didn't like the sound of them though."

He wants to ask what she means by that, but Beth continues before he can.

"I don't know," she then sighs and she sets the rest of her pastry down beside her. Before Daryl can grab him, Louis goes and gobbles it up and as Daryl is frowning at him, Beth doesn't even seem to notice what the dog has done. "I have enough money. I don't have to sell the house or farm. I can keep it but maybe I can just buy a smaller house in town." She sighs heavily and spins back around, her feet and legs wet and she places her feet on the warm concrete. "I get so angry at Shawn when I stop and think about it. Maggie, I understand. She got married and Glenn's family is from Michigan and that's where they want to be. But Shawn, he's just gallivanting around and just expects me to take care of everything like I couldn't use help."

Daryl's not too sure what to say to that but he knows he probably should say something. He can tell her that he knows how that feels. He's younger, but he always feel as if he's always seeing to and handling a lot more because of Merle. It's been like that they're entire lives. He's never just been Merle's little brother. He's Merle's babysitter.

But Daryl doesn't say any of that – though he knows that he could and the Doc would understand. And even if she doesn't, if he tells her all of that, he knows that she'll listen. That's one thing about her that he doesn't remember with Amy. Amy had accused him of never listening to him but Daryl isn't too sure if Amy ever listened to him.

"If you wan'," Daryl says instead and his mind really only registers the words he's about to say seconds before he does but even then, his mind remains silent instead of screaming at him to stop before he can give the words a voice. It's almost as if his mind isn't completely against his idea. "I'll be your roommate."

…

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 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to leave a review.**


	14. Fourth of July

**You are all wonderful. I love how this chapter turned out and I hope you like it, too!**

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…

 **Chapter Fourteen.**

Beth laughs as Louis jumps around her feet as she carries two more bags from the truck into the house and she wonders how it's possible for one dog to be as happy as Louis always seems to be. When she had made the comment to Daryl the day before, he had just shrugged and said that Louis likes her and the farm and he has no reason to not be happy.

When Daryl had made the suggestion of being roommates, she had been too stunned to speak for a moment and then, finally, she was able to ask him if she could think about it? Daryl had been expecting that and hadn't looked surprised and when he and Louis left to go hunting for the rabbit that Paulie wanted for dinner, Beth was quick to call Maggie.

"Do you think Shawn will be angry?" Beth asked after explaining the situation to her sister.

"Who the hell cares if he'll be angry?" Maggie was quick to reply back. "He left home and has stayed away this whole time. If he ever comes back to visit, show him the attic."

Beth had smiled at that. That's one of the reasons why she loves Maggie so much. Beth supposes that she's always been the "good girl" in the family. The one who went to church each week and obeyed her parents and never even dreamed about breaking curfew. And she's always been kind and polite and mindful of being too rude. And Maggie has never cared about being any of those things and has always spoken whatever is on her mind. And Beth has both admired her and be envious of her over the years because of it.

Daryl had moved in two days later, into Shawn's bedroom. Beth had spent the day before removing anything personal so nothing remained except the furniture, packing it into boxes and storing it upstairs in the attic, and she had cleaned it from top to bottom. She is nervous and excited to be having Daryl Dixon now living her. Nervous because it is Daryl Dixon and excited because it is Daryl Dixon.

"Need some help?"

Beth nearly jumps at the voice from behind her and she spins around to see that it's Daryl. Who else would it be? She's at the island in the middle of the kitchen, where she has deposited the shopping bags, and Daryl has been down in the basement, his hands wiping on a red bandana that he always seems to have on him.

"Sorry," she then laughs a little, feeling a little out of breath. "Still getting used to someone being in here with me."

Daryl doesn't say anything to that but his lips are doing that thing and it looks like he wants to smile but he's always able to stop himself before he can. She doesn't know why but it's so important that this man in front of her smiles – more specifically, smiles at _her_.

But before those thoughts can get away from her, she quickly reigns herself back in. She likes Daryl. Her crush for him seems to grow the more she sees him but she doesn't want to turn into a giggly idiot. She's a _doctor_ for goodness' sakes. She's a grown woman and she refuses to fall all over herself just because a handsome man whom she likes is now sharing her home.

"Need some help?" He asks her again.

"Oh! Yes, please. I just have a few more," Beth answers quickly and heads out the back door once more, Louis still on her heels. She wonders if Daryl minds.

Everyone in town knows that Daryl and Louis are pretty much inseparable. The dog is even allowed in the bar and diner and stores around town because they all know that where Daryl goes, Louis goes, too. Beth wonders if it bothers the man now that his dog seems to be spending as much time with her as he usually spends with Daryl. If it does bother Daryl, the man doesn't act like it or try to get Louis to stay away from her. She tries not to let it bother her that Daryl is completely unreadable. Some people keep themselves guarded; he certainly isn't the only person in the world to keep himself closed off from others.

"You havin' a party?" Daryl asks as they come upon her truck and he sees the plastic bags in the back bed, filled with all sorts of red, white and blue decorations for the holiday tomorrow as well as a few bags filled with food.

"Kind of. Just Spencer and Rosita," Beth says as she grabs two bags and Daryl is able to grab the remaining four before they head back into the house. "Just having a cook-out and then we're going to watch the fireworks by the pond. We get a great view of the town's fireworks." She sets her bags down and Daryl sets his down next to hers. "What are you going to be doing tomorrow? You're more than welcome to hang out here with us."

She makes the offer, but she really doesn't expect him to accept it. He has his mom and brother and he has other friends that probably do their own things on the Fourth of July.

"My ma doesn't like Fourth of July. She usually just stays inside and does her best to block out the fireworks," Daryl answers, stepping back as Beth begins to unload the bags. "And Merle goes to Joe's just like he does every other night. On the Fourth of July, Joe always sells anythin' that's red, blue and clear at half off so everyone gets shit faced pretty fast and shoot off fireworks behind the bar. And Rick and Lori are takin' Jude out of town so they don't have to listen to fireworks, Shane's workin' and T's got his own family barbecue."

"So…" Beth looks at him for a moment, trying not to get her hopes up. "Does that mean you don't have plans tomorrow?" She dares a glance at him before quickly busying herself, putting away the ground beef and cheese slices in the refrigerator. "It's nothing special. Just the three of us, eating burgers and pasta salad, and we shoot off some of our own fireworks before we go down to the pond and watch the town's show."

Daryl is quiet and she knows he's probably thinking of a way to let her down easy.

"That sounds real nice," he then says in a soft voice.

And Beth turns away from the refrigerator to give him a smile.

They both turn their heads when they hear the screen door creak open.

"Doc?" Someone then calls out.

Louis bursts with a bark and goes off running from the kitchen to the front door, Daryl and Beth hurry after him though Louis isn't getting himself ready to attack the person. Instead, it's Oscar and Louis is eagerly curious about the cat Oscar is holding in his arms.

"Sorry," Daryl says as he grabs Louis' collar and pulls the chocolate Lab back.

"I'm sorry, Oscar," Beth takes her turn to apologize. "Daryl and Louis just moved in and we still need to figure out a good way to keep him calm when patients are coming in. Hi, Pollyanna," she then coos to the black cat in the large man's arms and scratches at her beneath her chin just like she knows the animal likes.

"No worries, you both," Oscar says and he's smiling at both of them. "The way this girl is, she'd do more damage than Louis would."

It's true. The cat seems to be glaring down at the dog and if it is possible for a cat to put out hexes, Pollyanna would be doing that right now. All the while, Louis is smiling up at the cat and his tail will not stop wagging. Beth laughs gently at the scene and she looks to Daryl.

"Have a good day, Daryl," she smiles at him.

Daryl nods his head towards her. "You, too," he says to her and she then guides Oscar through the sitting room and into the examination room, closing the door behind them.

"So," Oscar grins as he gently sets the cat down on the steel exam table. "You and Daryl finally making a move with each other."

Beth shakes her head slightly and goes to her drawers, pulling out her stethoscope. "What do you mean _finally_?" She asks him as she goes back to the table.

Oscar waits until she listens to Pollyanna's heart and once she does and loops the stethoscope around her neck and then he answers. "Finally, because the whole town has been watching you two and have figured that something is going on."

Instantly, Beth's face explodes with a blush but she busies herself with looking into Pollyanna's ears. She has absolutely no idea what to say to that. The whole town has been watching her and Daryl? She knows it's a small town and not a lot happens but that seems ridiculous even for this place. There's absolutely nothing going on with her and Daryl. They are roommates now simply for convenience. She had needed help with the farmhouse and Daryl had needed a place to live outside of his mother's house. That's all this is.

A convenient arrangement for them both.

Beth shouldn't be surprised though that this town is making a mountain out of a mole hill.

She has a busy morning scheduled for herself. Most people have scheduled simple checkups for their animals and then have also wanted tranquilizers to help them get through all of the fireworks that will be going off all day tomorrow and by the time noon rolls around, her stomach is grumbling, demanding to be fed. And it's only when she leaves the exam room does she remember the groceries on the kitchen island and she had completely forgotten to put them away before Oscar had come. She hurries into the kitchen, imagining the kind of mess the melted ice cream has made on the counter.

But when she enters, she sees the kitchen is spotless. All of the groceries have been put away, the plastic bags stowed away in the box on the pantry floor where she keeps others and even the knife that she had used to smear peanut butter on her toast that morning and had been left in the sink has been put into the dishwasher. Beth stands in the doorway, looking at everything, feeling overwhelmed by Daryl's consideration.

And when he comes back home from work, she will be sure to thank him profusely for his help. But she will also be sure to make him know that she wanted a roommate; not a maid.

She goes into the freezer to get one of her Lean Cuisine meals and just as she has popped it into the microwave, the telephone on the wall begins to ring.

"Hello?" She answers.

"Hey, Beth," the man on the other end greets.

Her brow instantly furrows. "Hi, Zach." She pauses. "I didn't have an appointment today, did I? I don't have it in my phone-"

"No, no. Your six-month check-up is next month," Zach assures her. "I'm actually calling for Daryl. Is he there?"

Now, Beth's brow furrows even more and she frowns. "No… he's gone to one of his jobsites," she answers slowly. "What's going on? Does he have an appointment today?" She then can't help but ask.

Zach sighs heavily. "It's Amy. She never showed up to the office today so me and my dad and all of the hygienists have been taking turns answering the phone. And I know they're not together anymore but Daryl's still listed as her emergency number and I just thought…" he sighs again. "It was a stupid thought. I'm going to try her sister next. Thanks, Beth."

And with that, Zach hangs up.

Beth hangs up, too, and the microwave beeps and she goes to collect her lunch. She pulls back the plastic film and grabs a fork from the drawer and sits down on a stool at the island, scrolling through the contacts on her cell phone. Daryl doesn't have a cell phone – which is amazing to her. Not because a person _has_ to have a cell phone, but because he owns his own business and how do people get a hold of him? But people certainly manage because Daryl is always busy, going from one project to another.

She finds T-Dog's number in her phone and she dials it, putting him on speaker as she stabs a piece of her orange chicken.

"What's up, Doc?" T-Dog answers.

"Hi, T-Dog. Is Daryl nearby? I need to speak with him," Beth says.

"Breakin' my heart, Doc. Thought you were callin' to make my dreams come true."

Beth laughs a little as she rolls her eyes and pops a piece of the chicken into her mouth.

A moment of shuffling can be heard.

"Hey. Everythin' okay?" Daryl's voice asks her a moment later and she had _just_ seen him a few hours earlier but his voice still manages to make her spine shiver. And then she feels instantly pathetic and does her best to shake it off.

"Hi, Daryl. Zach called, looking for you. I guess Amy never showed up at the dentist's office today for work and they were hoping you have seen her," Beth says and even saying the words, she doesn't feel them settle right on her tongue.

They taste bitter and wrong and she almost wishes she hadn't called him but she had thought it would be the right thing to do. Daryl is a caring person and what if Amy's lost or hurt somewhere? What if Beth could have helped but hadn't told Daryl about it? That would never settle right with her. And Daryl would probably never forgive her.

Daryl's quiet for a moment. "Nah, I haven' seen her. And I don't really care to. 'm sure she's jus' still at home, nursin' a hangover. I'll call Andrea so she can go and check on her."

"Alright," Beth says because she's not too sure what else to say to all of this. "Um, thank you for putting the groceries away. You didn't have to do that though. I mean, I don't expect you to put my groceries away for me every time and I don't want you to think that I'm incapable or that I'm too lazy to put my groceries away myself-"

"Doc," Daryl says then, gently pushing his way in, cutting off her ramble. "Relax. 's jus' groceries," he says and Beth swears that she can hear a smile in his tone but she knows that it's probably just her imagination because Daryl does not smile. At least not to her.

"Still," she exhales a deep breath and she's relieved that Daryl's not there to see the color staining her cheeks. "Thank you," she says to him in a softer voice.

"You're welcome," he returns in a matching soft voice.

…

"If you burn them, I swear to God, Spencer…" Rosita trails off, letting the threat hang in the air. She stands next to him and peers down to the grill with a frown.

"Shut up, I'm not going to burn anything. Men have been grilling since the _dawn of time_. I think I know what I'm doing," Spencer frowns at her before turning back towards the grill where the burgers _are_ looking a little dark but he'll be damned before admitting that.

Beth ignores them as she sets the picnic table in the backyard near the grill. Plates and napkins, plastic ware and cups, all on top of the blue plastic tablecloth with white stars that she has bought. As she sets everything out, she can't help but look towards Daryl with Louis trotting at his side, coming out of the barn. They had given Louis a tranquilizer to keep him calm during the fireworks later but it takes a couple of hours before kicking in and right now, he's as wide awake and alert as always.

She can't help but have her eyes settle on the man as he walks closer. Even in something as simple as blue jeans and a black tee-shirt, he just looks so damn good. And then Beth feels the familiar guilt for thinking that because he's her friend and her roommate and he's not supposed to look damn good to her. He's just supposed to look like Daryl.

"There!" Spencer sets the plate of burgers down on the table. "Just the way George Washington intended for them to be."

"They look a little burnt to me," Rosita comments and then shrieks when Spencer then wraps his arm around her neck in a headlock.

"I just need to get the lemonade," Beth says as she leaves them to head back to the house.

"I'll come with you!" Rosita says and after successfully pushing Spencer away, she comes hurrying to catch up with her. "So," she begins as she and Beth climb the back steps and opening the screen door, go into the cool kitchen.

Beth nearly breathes with relief when she feels the nearly frigid air of the house compared to the heavy humid air outside. She has no idea how her family ever survived without air-conditioning in this house without passing out like she had.

"How's it going?" Rosita asks as Beth goes to the refrigerator to get the pitcher of lemonade and Beth turns to look at her because there's so much more to Rosita's question than just a simple how's it going. And sure enough, Rosita is smiling at her not so innocently.

Beth may love Rosita and Rosita may be her best friend but Beth is not going to entertain Rosita with this. "Everything's going fine," she says simply and she then takes the bowl of pasta salad and berries. "Carry this," she then says, handing Rosita the lemonade.

"Fine? Daryl Dixon is living with you now and you're going to give me just a fine?" Rosita asks with a raised eyebrow and Beth nearly laughs but she controls herself.

"Rosita, whatever are you talking about?" Beth teases, batting her eyebrows to her in an exaggerated manner; the utmost portrait of innocence.

"Well, fiddle-dee-dee, Ms. Scarlett," Rosita tease her back and Beth does laugh now as they head back outside.

Daryl and Louis are now at the table with Spencer and Spencer has gotten them two bottles of beer from the cooler. Both are sitting at the table, drinking and Daryl listening as Spencer talks, and as the girls arrive at the table, both stand up to help them set everything down. They then all sit down once more – Spencer and Rosita on one side and Beth next to Daryl across from them with Louis laying down in the grass underneath the table. It seems as if the tranquilizer is starting to kick in.

"See, the whole thing with the statue is what people _think_ it represents," Spencer continues his conversation with Daryl as they all help themselves to the food on the table. Besides the burgers and pasta salad, there is corn on the cob and baked beans. "They think we're just promoting the Confederacy and the continuation of slavery and I get it. _Of course_ people are going to be offended by it; just like there are plenty offended with the Confederate flag. And it's America. It's your right to be offended. But the statue is also honoring one of the most gifted tactical commanders in US History and whether we like it or not, that man is a part of history and a part of Southern history. Just because something's ugly doesn't mean we should just erase it and pretend it never happened."

"So, what'd the Mayor say instead?" Daryl asked, handing Beth the bottle of ketchup without her having to ask him for it.

"Oh, you mean what did he say instead of what I had eloquently written on the note cards for him?" Spencer frowned. "Stonewall Jackson was a Southern _hero_ and it is our town's duty to honor heroes. You can't call Stonewall Jackson a hero at a town's Fourth of July gathering without some feathers getting ruffled."

"So, now what?" Rosita asks. "People think the town is going to bring back slavery?"

"I don't want to go to work tomorrow," Spencer frowns.

"I don't remember nearly this many protests in Atlanta and Atlanta is a little bit bigger than this town," Beth comments. "And just because a person has Southern pride doesn't mean that that person condones slavery. That's like saying we all support the KKK because we're white," she says.

"Merle actually might," Daryl comments and Beth laughs softly, playfully nudging him in the side, and he looks at her with those twitching lips of his.

"See, it makes sense with the four of us, sitting around here, talking about it. But the Mayor is never able to quite word that all right without making it even worse," Spencer continues. "It's a talent. It really is."

"Don't look at me. I didn't vote for him," Rosita reminds him.

"Yes, dear, thank you for your continued support with my political career," Spencer smirks at her and Rosita just smiles at him.

Daryl is chewing on a bite of beans but once he's swallowed, he speaks again. "Don't 'member votin' at all. When were we supposed to vote?"

Beth giggles softly as Spencer gasps.

"Heathens. All of you are damn heathens who don't participate in the very cornerstone of our nation's democracy!" Spencer exclaims at all of them.

Beth shrugs then. "I always feel like my vote doesn't count. The media chooses who they want to win and that's that."

Spencer moves his plate out of the way and then drops his head heavily onto the table. The sudden noise startles Louis, who lifts his head and gives a quiet bark, before settling down once more and going back to sleep.

"Anyway," Rosita ignores her boyfriend as she takes another corncob. "Daryl, are you the one who's going to be building the new gazebo in the Commons?" She asks.

Daryl nods and then waits until he's swallowed his mouthful of burger. "Yeah. Me and T got a meetin' with the town's plannin' committee next week. Didn' even show interest or put a bid in. Mayor's office jus' called me up and told me they wanted me to rebuild the thing."

"Yeah," Spencer says, his head still down and his voice muffled. "I dropped your name to them when we were in a meeting, discussing who should do it."

Beth looks to Daryl and Daryl is staring at Spencer. Daryl's usual expressionless face is showing obvious surprise at that and Beth purses her lips together to keep from smiling too widely. But really, she wants to throw her arms around Spencer for the gesture; whether he considers it to be one or not. Because this is exactly why she loves her friends. They know she likes Daryl and that he's becoming important to her so Rosita and Spencer are making the effort to get to know him and like him, too.

She hopes that Daryl looks at all of them as his friends, too.

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading! Today's my birthday so please take a moment and gift me with a review! (Did that sound too needy? I really didn't mean for it to.)  
**


	15. Girl's Night (Plus Daryl)

…

 **Chapter Fifteen.** Girl's Night (Plus Daryl).

Girl's gone and bought more flowers.

The Doc really has no set hours. Just like her pops had run the practice, if someone needs to see her, she'll be open for them. So sometimes, she doesn't seem to have a moment's rest with people flooding her phone, wanting to see her. And then, other times, she has stretches of hours with no one needing her. And when it comes to times like that, she's either outside, planting flowers all over the house, weeding and making sure they're watered a good amount, or she's in her parents' room, going through their things, trying to decide what to do with all of it. She'll sometimes go into the barn to help Otis with something or other or just to do checkups on the horses. Years ago, the farm used to have cattle and pigs, but Hershel had sold both off and after that, he was a strictly horse and cotton man. But in the later years of his life, even the cotton had dwindled. Growing cotton was labor intensive and even with Otis and hiring men to help them with picking every season, it became too much work, so the cotton crop got smaller until now, it was just a bit of land that Otis could handle himself.

He understands why Beth doesn't want to sell the farm though. Even though it's not nearly as much of a working farm as it used to be, it's been in her family for generations and the Greene land stretches out beneath the Georgia blue sky. It's a lot of land worth a lot of money, but Beth doesn't need the money and he will never admit it out loud but he likes knowing someone who doesn't give a shit about money and holds onto land for sentiment.

After dropping T-Dog off at his house after a day's work, Daryl pulls up the dirt drive of the farm, looking at the new flowers that have been added in the dirt around the house, and he parks beneath one of the shady trees in front. He gets out and Louis hops out after him and he can hear piano tinkling from inside. Must have been a slow day for her.

He climbs the front steps and can't help but let out a sigh when the cold air of the house hits him as he goes inside. July in Georgia is no picnic and he can't imagine how either of them would have gotten through it without central air. In the house they had lived in when his old man had still be alive, there hadn't been an air conditioner and Daryl knows what it was like to live without one and he isn't looking to live like that again.

Daryl looks into the living room and Louis goes trotting over to greet Beth after being away from her the whole day and Daryl sees that it's not Beth playing the piano but a little girl wearing a dirty dress with no shoes on her bare feet.

"Remember to keep your fingers curved," Beth instructs the girl in a gentle, patient voice and reaches over, curving the girl's fingers over the keys.

Daryl doesn't know the girl's name but he recognizes her. Her whole family's got that same near-black curly hair. They live in shacks and trailers in the woods outside of town and everyone knows they cook meth out there and deal and the cops raid them a couple of times a month and when Daryl's hunting in the woods, he makes a wide berth, keeping his distance from them. He figures they're worse than the Dixons ever were.

"Much better," Beth beams at the girl.

The girl smiles, too, but then looks to the clock. "Gotta go. Thanks, Doc!" And within a second, she has slid off the piano bench and has run out of the house, her bare feet carrying her quickly down the dirt road.

Beth turns on the bench and rubs Louis behind his ears and looks to Daryl with a smile. She is so damn pretty when she smiles. Of course, he's quickly realizing that the Doc is pretty when she does just about anything. There's just something about her. Sometimes, he looks at her and he swears that she's damn near glowing.

"Givin' lessons now?" Daryl asks.

Beth shakes her head. "Just to her and I don't charge her anything. I figure her learning piano is the better thing in life for her to learn."

And that's another thing with the Doc. She's just good. Plain and simple, she's good.

"How'd your meeting go today?" She asks, standing up from the piano bench and she begins heading into the kitchen, Louis trotting right after her and Daryl follows after them both.

"T says it went pretty good," he shrugs and watches as she fills the tea kettle with water before putting it on the stove burner.

Even though he had been the one to suggest it, he admits that he had been a bit hesitant at becoming roommates with Beth Greene. He had no idea how to be someone's roommate. He went from living with his mom to getting his own little apartment – with Merle crashing on the couch most nights – and then he lived with Amy but they weren't exactly roommates. And now, he's living with a girl who's pretty and nice and probably one of the best people he's ever met but he's not with her and they're just friends and Daryl had no idea how he was supposed to live with a girl like that.

But it's been a week and he thinks it's going pretty good. He was waiting for some awkwardness but having a roommate you like, Daryl has realized, is just like living with your friend and that's what he considers Beth. A friend. Maybe that's why this is easy.

"And how do you think it went?" Beth asks.

Daryl shrugs. "Plannin' Committee is a bunch of anal uptight assholes," he says before he can stop himself but he nearly smiles when Beth bursts out laughing at that. "Givin' me the third degree on what kind of wood 'm gonna use to mend it and I only have four colors to pick from to paint it 'cause it has to fit in with the rest of historic downtown. It's a damn gazebo. Not the Vatican," he grumbles and Beth laughs again.

"You know how important that gazebo is," Beth reminds him.

The kettle starts whistling and she takes two tea bags down from the cabinet and fills two mugs with the steaming water. She then hands him a cup of the tea and keeps the other for herself. They stand across from one another, the kitchen island between them, and he watches as she takes her first small sip.

"Yeah, I know," he still can't help but frown though. "Some important guy a hundred years ago made some speech there. I know."

Beth smiles around the rim of her cup before she takes another sip and Daryl takes a much larger swig of his tea, liking the way it burns the back of his throat as it goes down.

"I 'preciate Spencer givin' 'em my name, but I don't know if I'm their guy," Daryl then admits. "Whole reason I started buildin' my own stuff was 'cause I like to build what's in my head without someone tellin' me what to do."

He looks to Beth and she's standing there, sipping her tea, and she seems to be in deep thought. As if she's really listening to what he's saying and is thinking of something helpful to say in reply. And that's another thing with Beth. He never feels like he's wasting his breath when he's around her. Amy can say all of the bullshit she wants but he _did_ listen to her. He always listened. It was her who could never seem to be bothered with him.

And that's the thing. The more time he spends with Beth, and they're just _friends_ , he realizes just how little Amy did for him. Beth treats him like a human being and Amy, near the end, acted as if Daryl should be grateful that she was spending any time with him at all. It wasn't always like that. Daryl's playing their relationship enough times over in his mind. That first time she told him she loved him, she had sounded as if she had absolutely meant it. They had fun together and they had had things in common and things had been good.

In the beginning anyway.

Daryl still has no idea what had changed. Did he change? He doesn't think so. He thinks he's pretty much always been this guy. Amy obviously is the one who changed. Or… did she? Maybe this now is who she has always been and for some reason had hid that from him.

"I think," Beth speaks, pulling him from the thoughts he really doesn't want to be having anyway. "You should make a sketch of the way _you_ would want to change the gazebo. Make sure you use whatever wood and paint they want but draw it the way you see it. And show that to them and see if they'll be on board. That way, it's still the gazebo, but it's _yours_ , too."

Daryl shakes his head. "Plannin' Committee will never go for that."

Beth just shrugs and smiles. "You'll never know that for sure if you don't at least try it."

Daryl doesn't know what to say to that so he doesn't say anything. Instead, he just stands there and sips his tea and he can't stop looking at her. He wonders when it happened where he stopped looking at the Doc and comparing her to Amy the whole time. He wonders when he reached the conclusion that there just is no comparison between the two women. Past their blonde hair, that's pretty much where it ends.

"What are you doin' tonight?" Daryl asks because it's Friday night and she's probably going out with Spencer and Rosita. He wonders if she'll invite him. The more time he spends with the three of them, the more he admits to himself that he really enjoys himself.

He's always had Rick and Shane, and Merle and T-Dog, but as he told Beth, they all have their own lives and Daryl is finding that maybe they're all going through different things in their life right now. Rick has the family. He's a husband and a father and those are his priorities. Shane loves women and being with as many as he can and he shows no signs of stopping. Merle is Merle and even as brothers, Daryl has had little in common with him. And T-Dog and him get along great and T loves to build just like him but if the man's not working, he's at church and Daryl has never been the religious sort.

But with Beth, Spencer and Rosita, they are all younger than him and yet, when he hangs out with them, maybe it's not obvious or something they don't think about because he never feels like he should feel uncomfortable with them.

Beth's cheeks turn a noticeable darker shade of pink. "Actually… your mom invited me over tonight," she admits.

"What the hell?" Daryl can't help but ask with a slight frown.

"We had such a good time together, baking the coconut cake, and your mom called me earlier this afternoon, asking if I'd like to come over this evening," Beth says, blushing if she's embarrassed and Daryl realizes that she's unsure of his reaction because he's still frowning. "If it makes you too uncomfortable, I won't. It's making you uncomfortable," she then decides for herself. She sets her mug down. "Let me just call your mom-"

"Nah," Daryl steps in front of her as she moves towards the phone on the wall. "It ain't makin' me uncomfortable. Just took me by surprise, that's all."

His mom wants to spend time with Beth? She never called, wanting Amy to come over so they could spend time together. Then again, Beth isn't acting like spending time with his mom is a chore while Amy had never seemed too eager about going over there for dinner.

He nearly frowns to himself. What the hell? Why couldn't he see any of this when he had been with her? It almost scares him how blind he must have been for the past two years, not seeing things everyone else could.

"I actually gotta go over there later, too," he hears himself say quickly for some reason.

"Really? Your mom didn't mention that."

"Yeah," he shrugs then, making sure his face is blank and he's casual. "She mentioned that the shower is drippin' and I just want to check it out for her. I'll give you a ride."

Beth smiles at that and if she knows that he's making that up just on the fly, she doesn't act like it. She just goes back to the island and sips on her tea and he wonders why his mom asked the Doc over and exactly what Paulie had planned when she did.

…

Paulie comes out of the house and waits on the front stoop when she hears the pickup truck pull into the driveway. Daryl can see the look she's giving him. She's wondering what the hell he's doing there. But when he steps out of the truck and walks around to lower the gate for Louis to jump out of the back bed, Paulie's smiling and Beth's coming up to her, Paulie instantly wrapping her arms around her in a hug.

"You are so sweet to give up your Friday night to spend it with a lonely, old women," Paulie tells her but there's a lightness in her voice as she speaks.

"You're not old," Beth is quick to tell her.

Paulie just smiles and pats her cheek affectionately before looking to Daryl and he can only hope that she doesn't say anything that will give away the fact that her shower's not really dripping – as far as he knows – and she never asked him to take a look at it. He looks at her and hopes that that's all conveyed on his face and that Paulie can read it.

"Hey, honey. Wasn' expectin' you 'til tomorrow," Paulie says smoothly and Daryl nearly exhales a sigh of relief. He loves his mom.

"Yeah. Didn' wanna impose on your girls' night, but I wanted to check on that leaky shower for you," Daryl says.

"Well, thank you," Paulie plays along. "But you're right. You can't have any of our pizza or wine," she says as she ushers all of them into the house. "I wasn't sure what kind of pizza you liked, Doc, so I just got us a cheese."

"Oh goodness," Beth says as she sees the pizza box on the coffee table along with a bottle of red wine. "It looks so good. Thank you for doing this, Paulie."

"Thank _you_ for coming, Doc," Paulie smiles at her. "Please, make yourself at home. And Daryl," she turns to look at him. "You can go start on that shower."

"Yes ma'm," Daryl says and feels himself nearly smiling.

He looks to Beth and she's smiling at him and for a second, he thinks maybe she knows that he really didn't have plans to come over here until she mentioned that she'd be coming but Beth couldn't possibly know that.

She's just smiling because that's what Beth does. She smiles.

He turns and heads to the bathroom down the hallway. He looks over his shoulder, expecting Louis to be behind him, but instead, the dog has abandoned him to stick with Beth. She has taken off her shoes and have sat down on the couch, bending her legs and brining her bare feet up. And Louis has taken it upon himself to jump up onto the couch, placing himself over Beth's feet as if he's going to keep them warm for her.

There's nothing wrong with Paulie's shower, but Daryl turns on the water for a moment before turning it off and watching it swirl down the drain. Yeah, nothing wrong with it. No drips and it's draining fine. But Daryl can hear Beth and Paulie, laughing, from the living room so he keeps himself in the bathroom, not wanting to go out and interrupt. It's good to hear his mom laugh like that; like she doesn't have a care in the world and she may be in her sixties, but right now, she's just a woman, hanging out with a friend, drinking wine and eating pizza and watching some movie that sounds like it's probably a chick flick.

He's not too sure why he's there. It's Friday and he and T don't have any jobs lined up for tomorrow. He could have just stayed at the farm, in his room with Louis, working on his sketch of his ideas for the town gazebo because Beth's idea of him making his own drawings to present to the planning committee. Amy never would have come up with a suggestion like that.

And maybe that's why he's here. Because Beth's not Amy and she's here, spending time with his mom, and maybe, deep down, Daryl thinks he wants to spend time with Beth, too.

"Oh God," Paulie suddenly says. "Doesn't that tickle?"

Beth gasps. "You've never…"

"No, no. Will wasn' exactly a givin' man in bed," Paulie says.

Daryl wishes he is able to cut his ears off at that.

"And was Mr. Dixon… after he died, did you…" Beth struggles to ask the question and just the simple idea of Beth knowing anything about his mom's and old man's sex life is enough to make Daryl want to turn and bang his head against the tiled wall of the shower.

"No, no. Will was my only. I was so young when I fell in love with 'im and then, there was just 'im for years. I didn' run 'round on him like he did on me. He would have killed me," Paulie says and pauses, taking a swig of wine. "And then, he died and I had to take care of my boys and was too busy for anythin' else."

They're quiet for a moment, drinking wine and eating another slice of pizza and watching their movie that sounds pretty damn dirty, in Daryl's opinion.

"What about you? Why aren't you engaged or married? You're smart, successful, beautiful…" Paulie says.

Daryl is down the hallway and he swears he can hear the Doc blushing.

"Thank you," Beth murmurs quietly. "And there was Zach in high school but once high school ended, so did we. He was my first."

She must be making a face because Paulie laughs softly then.

"Terrible?" She asks.

"Aren't most first times?" Beth then laughs a little, too. "Pretty sure he wasn't even in the right hole the first time."

Paulie bursts out laughing at that and Daryl's face explodes with fire, his mind suddenly assaulting with all sorts of mental images; images that he really doesn't know if he wants there or not. He feels like he's wrong for thinking the things he's thinking of now. It's the Doc. They're friends. They're _roommates_. Thinking of her naked now makes him feel like the biggest fucking pervert. He's about right on the same level as Merle now.

To make them think he's still working, Daryl turns on the shower once more but after running it for a moment, he turns it off, and the conversation is still going on in the living room. Why are they talking about this stuff? Did they forget that he's here?

Beth continues. "And then, there was a boy in college but it really was… well, he was in love with me and I felt so bad because…"

"No whoosh in the stomach?" Paulie guesses.

"I've never felt anything like that and I… I want to feel that more than anything," Beth says.

"You will," Paulie tells her and she sounds so confident; as if she can see into the future.

"Did you ever feel the whoosh?" Beth asks.

Paulie's quiet for a moment. "I met Will when I was thirteen and what thirteen-year-old girl doesn't get a whoosh in her stomach when a handsome boy pays attention to her?"

"He was handsome?" Beth asks.

"He's still the most handsome man I've ever seen," Paulie says and her voice sounds sad and far away and Daryl swallows. He hates that his mom can still sound sad when talking about his dad; as if she actually misses him. And maybe she does – despite everything he did. Daryl doesn't know though because he's never taken the time to ask her. Talking about Will Dixon isn't high on his list of possible conversation topics.

"Merle looks like me, but Daryl… he hates this but he looks like his dad," Paulie adds.

And she's right. There's few things in this world that Daryl hates hearing more than that he looks like Will Dixon.

Finally, not able to fix something that's not broken, he leaves the bathroom and heads back down the hallway into the living room. Beth is sitting on the couch with Louis and Paulie is sitting in the recliner. The bottle is half-way empty and there's one triangle slice of pizza left in the box on the coffee table. When he looks to the television, he sees that whatever movie they had been watching has been turned off and instead, they're watching Lifetime. Both look up and smile at him as he comes into the room.

"Fix the shower?" Paulie asks and she's smiling.

"Yeah," Daryl says and then looks away from his mom to look at the television. "You done watchin' your dirty movie?"

"It wasn' that dirty," Paulie says. "But it was too sad, so we turned it off. Have the last slice," she then offers and Daryl doesn't need to be told twice.

He sits down on the couch, next to Beth, with Louis between them and he takes the slice, bringing it to his mouth as he leans back in the cushion behind him. From the corner of his eye, he sees Beth sipping at her wine and smiling as Paulie is talking about her favorite Lifetime movies and Beth says that her mother used to love Lifetime movies, too.

Daryl doesn't say anything. He has absolutely nothing to add to this conversation. So he eats his pizza and keeps quiet and the whole time, he tries to remember if he ever felt that whoosh when he was with Amy. He's pretty sure he knows the answer.

…

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 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review!**


	16. A Step Forward

**As always, I can't thank you enough for the reviews, support and love for this story.**

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…

 **Chapter Sixteen.** A Step Forward.

"Son of a bitch."

Beth steps from the bathroom, her hair still wet from the shower and wrapped up in a towel, and she's wearing her bathrobe. The bathroom is across the hall from Daryl's bedroom and the door is open. Hearing the swearing, she can't help but curiously take a peek into the room to see what he's doing.

Louis is lying on the bed but his head is up, curiously watching his owner, and Daryl is standing at the dresser, scowling at his reflection and struggling with the tie around his neck. He is grumbling and jerking at it, his fingers fumbling with attempting at knotting it. Beth purses her lips together to make sure she doesn't laugh as she raises her fist and knocks on the open door. Daryl instantly looks at her.

"Need some help?" She offers.

Daryl yanks the tie from around his neck. "Who the fuck invented these things? They're no better than nooses," he all but growls and Beth lets out a puff of laughter before she's able to stop herself.

"I used to help daddy with them all of the time once mom…" she trails off at that and steps forward into the room, taking the tie from him. She stops though before she can tie it around his neck for him and can't help but frown a little. "Are you going to wear a tie with the short sleeve?" She asks.

Daryl frowns, too. "I got that meetin' with the plannin' committee this mornin'," he reminds her. "T said we should dress up this time so we look like somethin' more than contractors."

"But you _are_ contractors and the committee already knows that," Beth points out to him.

"Ain't nothin' wrong with lookin' professional," he mutters. "Are you gonna help or what?"

Beth shakes her head, ignoring his tone. He's angry, but not at her. She knows him well enough to know that. "You can't wear a short sleeve button shirt with a tie. It just doesn't go together that well."

Daryl is still frowning. "It's eight o'clock in the mornin' and already ninety degrees outside and I ain't goin' naked," he snaps.

She rolls her eyes at that. "Wait here."

Beth leaves his room and goes down the hallway to her room. Taking the towel from her head, she rubs her hair with it for a moment before tossing it onto her bed and then going to the window seat, taking a wrapped package she has setting there. She then goes back into his room where he, once again, is making an attempt at the tie. She sets the box down on the dresser and then gently slaps his hands away.

"Stop it," she orders him and then pulls the tie away. "I got you something for today."

He pauses at that and the scowl slowly drops from his face as he looks at the box on the dresser. He looks at it as if he's never seen a present before and then he looks at her.

"Wha' is it?" He asks her.

Beth doesn't answer. She just picks the box up and holds it out for him to take; which he finally does but slowly. And even when it's in his hands, he doesn't make a move to open it. He just stares down at it as if perhaps he can see through the green wrapping paper she has wrapped it in.

"Well, aren't you going to open it?" Beth asks and she's smiling but only to hide her nervousness that perhaps, this wouldn't be appreciated.

It had been something done on impulse a couple days ago – when Daryl had come home after a day's work and had shown her the sketches he had made of his ideas for the gazebo, which he would show to the planning committee at his next meeting with them. She had been so flattered that not only had he listened but that he had taken her advice.

Daryl slowly peels at the paper and Louis jumps down from the bed to come to them. Beth takes the paper from him though before Louis can get a hold of it. The dog is a shredder.

Daryl turns and sets the box down on the dresser and pulls the lid up.

"They're nothing special," Beth is quick to say. "And you _don't_ have to wear them, but there's one for you and the other is for T-Dog. I just thought…" she trails off because she's actually not entirely sure what she thought. If Daryl had wanted tee-shirts for his business, he more than likely probably would have made some already.

Daryl unfolds the dark navy blue tee-shirt and holds it up so he can get a look at it.

On the left breast pocket, there's a little white logo of a stick figure wearing a hard-hat and carrying a plank of wood over his shoulder. And on the back, also in white lettering that is large enough to see from a distance, it says **Dixon Construction – Commercial and Residential**. And then she has T-Dog's cell number listed since that is the unofficial number of the company.

He doesn't say anything. He just looks at the shirt and she knows she's still getting to know Daryl but she wishes she already had the ability of figuring out what his silences mean. She wishes she knew if he liked or hated the shirts. If he hates them, she can just quickly take the box back to her room and she will be more than happy to pretend that she never had these made for him.

Maybe it's a bit presumptuous of her. Maybe this isn't something that roommates do for one another and she has just totally crossed some invisible line and have horribly embarrassed herself and have made it so awkward between them now. But… even if it's not what roommates do, it's something that friends definitely do for one another. And she considers Daryl one of her friends.

A friend who gives her a whoosh in her stomach every time she sees him though that is something she's doing her best to always ignore. What she had told Paulie is true. She wants to feel that whoosh with someone more than anything and it's just cruel that she feels it with Daryl. She feels like she needs to be specific. She wants to feel that whoosh but she wants to feel it for someone who could possibly feel it for her in return. If Daryl ever feels a whoosh, Beth has a feeling it's for no one other than Amy.

"So, um," she speaks when he still isn't saying anything. "Do you want to try the tie again?"

She doesn't look at him as she sets the wrapping paper on the dresser for the time being and picks up the tie once more. She finally lifts her eyes to Daryl's face and she gives him a small smile. She refuses to be embarrassed. She tells herself there's no reason to be. It's just a tee-shirt. It's not like she just offered him _her_ and he's turning her down. It's just a shirt.

Daryl is staring at her, _really_ staring at her, and her stomach is whooshing and she wishes that he would say _anything_ right now because his silence is almost making her nervous.

"Daryl-" Beth begins to say. But that's all she's able to say.

Daryl steps to her then and his hands glide over her cheeks and his lips press to hers.

And for a second – just a split second – Beth has no idea what's going on. But then, her brain catches up and it registers with her that Daryl is kissing her. He's actually kissing her. His lips are on hers, his facial hair scratching her upper lip and her chin, and his fingers are tangled back in her damp hair. She feels her knees beginning to weaken beneath her and she quickly wraps her arms around his shoulders to keep herself standing and she pushes herself up on the tips of her toes so she can kiss him with a matching pressure.

For a horrible second, she wonders if he really means to be kissing her. She worries that he'll pull away at any second and he'll start ignoring her after this. She worries that he'll pull away and look disappointed that she's not Amy.

But Daryl doesn't do any of those things. He kisses her and he keeps kissing her, hard and hungry, and it surprises her because she admits, she has daydreamed about their first kiss and it had always been soft; maybe even a little hesitant and awkward. Nothing like this. Daryl Dixon is an unbelievable kisser and Beth has never been kissed like this before; like he will pass out if he is to do anything in this moment but kiss her.

She has an image of Daryl un-knotting the belt of her robe from around her waist and taking her to his bed but neither of them have time for that right now. Her first appointment is at eight and he has his meeting with the planning committee that morning and she doesn't want their first time to be quick. She wants to be able to take her time with him and have him take his time with her in return. And she doesn't even know if this kiss will lead to more kisses. They can't just fall into bed with one another. She's never been like that and though she might be with Daryl, she'd much rather see if this kiss will lead somewhere else first. Perhaps a date.

Does Daryl want this kiss to lead somewhere?

They both seem to silently agree at the same time that they need to breathe and slowly, they pull their lips apart, and when Beth's eyes flutter open, she finds Daryl already looking at her. She finds herself looking to his face, her stomach clenching nervously because what is he going to say right now? What is he thinking? That she's not Amy?

"Thanks for the shirt," he then says in that low, near-quiet voice that gives her shivers.

And it seems such a silly thing to say and yet, it's perfectly Daryl, and Beth is able to give him a small smile and nod of her head. She wonders if his heart is racing in his chest, too.

…

"You're late," is the first thing Rosita says as Beth rushes into Sheer Genius that night. As with every other Wednesday, Rosita is the only one in the salon working late that evening. It's why Wednesdays are Rosita's favorite day of the week.

She is sitting in the chair at her station, reading a two-month old copy of _US_ _Weekly_ , but she is smiling as she slaps it shut and stands up. "Thank God you're here. If you didn't show, I would have had no excuse to keep me from going to some dinner with Spencer's coworkers. And, I love Spencer. Obviously. But, I don't love his coworkers. There's always at least two who ask me about the Latina vote. As if I represent all Latina voters."

Beth is breathing heavily as if she had run all the way here from the farm and Rosita's smile slowly fades as she looks at her.

"What's wrong?" She asks. Her cell phone in the top drawer begins to ring – Spencer's ring – but she ignores it as Beth is still breathing rapidly and not answering her. "Beth!" Rosita doesn't mean to snap but Beth is scaring the shit out of her right now.

Beth blinks at her best friend as if she doesn't quite remember how she got here. "Daryl kissed me this morning," she then releases in a rush of words and Rosita gasps and grabs her best friend's hands, pulling her closer, Beth stumbling before catching her feet.

"What the hell, Beth?" Rosita demands. "This _morning_?! And you're just now telling me?"

"I had patients…" Beth helplessly explains.

"I need to shampoo your hair and you need to tell me everything," Rosita says with no room for argument as she drags Beth over to the shampoo bowls.

And Beth does tell her everything: Daryl struggling with the tie, Beth presently him with the tee-shirts she has made for his company and then Daryl kissing her like the kisses Beth used to read about in those silly cheap paperback novels and imagining herself having one of these days. And then, afterwards, they had just gone about their morning as they usually did. Both got themselves ready and Daryl had come down into the kitchen in the tee-shirt and his nicest pair of jeans and Beth had handed him a thermos of coffee before wishing him luck on his meeting that morning.

"I thought he would kiss me again," Beth then admits as Rosita lathers the shampoo into her hair and then her fingers massage her scalp.

Usually, Rosita shampooing her hair can nearly put her to sleep but tonight, Beth's too wired. She's been wired for the entire day and her lips and knees are still shaking and trembling so many hours later. Ever since Daryl's lips touched her for the first time.

"He probably didn't because he didn't know if you wanted him to," Rosita replies.

Beth frowns at that. "I've been making it pretty obvious what I want."

Rosita laughs a little. "No, you haven't. You've been doing what you always do. You politely keep away when you think you don't have a chance with a guy. Even if you really do, if you _think_ you don't, that's pretty much that. You don't put yourself out there."

Beth keeps frowning, but only because she knows that what Rosita said is the truth.

No, she hasn't made her feelings towards Daryl obvious. But that's because she thought it would be completely pointless. He's been still so hung up on his ex-girlfriend. Hasn't he? When did he get over Amy? Or is he still hung up on her and when he kissed Beth this morning, he was just imagining that it was Amy's lips he was touching instead of hers?

"Up," Rosita says, dropping a towel over Beth's hair and wringing out the access water.

Beth stands up and walks to Rosita's station, plopping down in the chair. The excitement from this morning has finally worn off and she wishes that she and Daryl had talked about it instead of doing what they had done; which was nothing. They hadn't even talked about it. He had given her the most passionate kiss she has ever had in her entire life and she didn't even talk with him about it. And she's a person who wants to talk about everything!

"I messed up," she sighs as Rosita begins combing her hair out.

"No, you haven't. And I'm just not saying that," Rosita is quick to say. "The same length?"

Beth nods, not even looking at her reflection in the mirror in front of her. "Just trim the split ends," she says and Rosita gets to work.

"We never should have kissed," Beth sighs again. "He's still in love with Amy and when he kissed me… I don't know. It was an impulse… or something. He's probably been regretting it all day and is hoping that I'll never mention it to him again."

"What makes you think any of that?" Rosita asks. "Daryl is a great guy, Beth. A little damaged, sure. But what brooding attractive man like him isn't? That doesn't mean he's not great and you two are friends and I don't think he's been in love with Amy for a while now."

"And how could you possibly know that?" Beth asks, finally lifting her eyes to look at Rosita's reflection behind her.

"How could you possibly know that he's still in love with her?" Rosita asks her back.

Beth shrugs sadly. "He told me. His feelings for her just aren't like a light switch. He can't just switch it off one day."

Rosita is quiet for a moment, thinking, as she combs and snips and keeps Beth's hair to her shoulders. "Well," she finally speaks again. "Then if that's the truth, if he really is still in love with her, I can only hope that you two never mention the kiss to one another."

Beth looks at Rosita's reflection, her brow furrowed, and the question clear on her face.

"If he's still in love with Amy, he's clearly an idiot. And I refuse to have my best friend wind up with an idiot like that."

Rosita smiles at her through the mirror and despite the heaviness in her chest, Beth finds herself smiling back. Rosita bends down and kisses Beth on the cheek and Beth exhales a shaky breath, almost wanting to laugh. Leave it to Rosita to put it so simply yet eloquently.

The whole day – through every one of her appointments – Daryl has been in the back of her mind, never fully leaving and giving her a moment's peace. She has replayed this morning over and over again and she had felt the whooshing in her stomach each time she thought of his lips covering hers and his fingers in her hair. She has wondered if he has spent the day, replaying the kiss over and over again his mind, too.

But then, the self-doubt has been nipping at the back of her neck, too, because the kiss had made her weak in the knees but she can't read Daryl's mind so she has no idea what he had been thinking when he had been kissing her.

 _Amy doesn't taste like this. Amy doesn't kiss like this. Amy's not this short. Amy doesn't do that with her hands. Where's her tongue? Amy would have given me her tongue by now._

And on and on it went for the rest of the afternoon until Beth was done for the day and she was able to come here and unload on Rosita because that's what best friends are for.

She hates having thoughts like that. She hates doubting herself so much. She can be shy, yes, but she's never doubted herself as much as she started doing once meeting Daryl Dixon. And she almost wants to be angry at him for that. But she can't be mad at him. He hasn't done anything up until this morning to show her that he's interested in her the same way she's interested in him. It's not his fault that she has a crush on him and he's emotionally unavailable.

She just wishes she could have all of the answers without having to actually talk with him.

And then she gets angry at herself for that, too, because she's not a little kid. She's a grown woman. She's a _doctor_. She should be able to handle talking with a man who kissed her and she should be able to handle anything he tells her.

After Beth's hair is cut and dried and Beth has helped Rosita clean up, they leave the salon, Rosita turning off the lights and locking the door, and they head towards Beth's truck. Spencer drives Rosita in the mornings, dropping her off on the way to Town Hall. Rosita says they're saving their money for more important things than two cars. Spencer's family is a well-to-do Southern family. Old money; powerful in certain circles. And when he started dating Rosita in high school, they hadn't minded that much because it was just high school. But as the years went on and the relationship showed no signs of ending, that's when Spencer's family began voicing their disapproval until finally the ultimatum came. Either you stop seeing Rosita or you stop seeing this family.

Since then, Spencer's dad and older brother have come back around but he still doesn't talk to his mom. Rosita has less than savory things to say about her. "She loves making her speeches about how she loves everyone, but, what else would a politician say to a camera?"

Rosita and Spencer live in a small house on one of the town's residential streets right off of the main street and Beth pulls the truck into the driveway. It has been decided without discussing it that tonight would be a night for wine on the couch. Beth had loved her girl's night with Paulie, she loves _Paulie_ , but she obviously can't have a girl's night with Daryl's mom when Beth wants to talk about Daryl.

Inside, when Rosita goes into the kitchen for the glasses and bottle, Beth sits on the couch and reaches for the LIFE board game box that is always beneath the coffee table.

Spencer comes home after a glass of wine each and they are halfway through the first game.

"Hi, honey!" Rosita greets from her spot on the floor, her smile slow like honey. "Guess what? We have two sets of twins and I'm a plumber."

Spencer looks exhausted with his tie hanging loose around his neck. Seeing his tie makes Beth think of Daryl and she nearly groans. Even a stupid necktie reminds her of the man. She tries to remember what life was like when she wasn't pathetic like this.

"Good. Tradesmen make more money than people think," Spencer says as he goes into the kitchen, returning a moment later with his own glass. He eases himself down into the armchair and takes the bottle, helping himself to some. "So, I heard Daryl kissed you today," Spencer then says to Beth without any sort of preamble.

And Beth, who has taken a sip of her wine, proceeds to choke.

"Where the hell did you hear that?" Beth asks, sitting up, staring at him through teary eyes, her throat still burning.

Spencer shrugs as if he doesn't see any big deal to this. "Daryl. He came to see me after his meeting with the planning committee and we were just talking."

Beth stares at him, waiting for him to say more, but Spencer has sank back into his chair and is just sipping his wine as if it's any other night for him. Beth picks up one of the pillows from the couch and throws it at his head.

"Hey!" He frowns.

"You deserved that," Rosita says as she spins the dial in the middle of the board game, concentrating on her turn.

"What did he say?" Beth all but demands.

Spencer takes a sip of his wine, taking his time, and Beth nearly throws the other couch pillow at him but then he looks at her with a smile.

"He wanted to know if the Mexican restaurant in town was a nice enough place to take you to for a date."

…

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 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review!  
**

 **I'm very excited to write about Daryl and Beth in date situations.**


	17. Flipping a Switch

**You guys are so amazing. I don't even know what to say besides that.**

 **This chapter may seem like a filler but there's so much going on with Daryl, this has become one of my favorites. I love writing that man's inner thoughts.**

 **I will be going out of town on vacation for a few days so I'm not entirely sure when I will update again but I'm sure I'm going to be getting a ton of inspiration for my muse while I'm gone.**

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…

 **Chapter Seventeen.** Flipping a Switch.

Daryl and T-Dog step from the conference room, not speaking. All T does is slap a hand on Daryl's shoulder and gives him a wide grin that Daryl nearly returns.

"I'm gonna go grab the paper from the shop downstairs," T-Dog says.

Daryl nods. "I got someone I was thinkin' of stoppin' by and seein' real quick. I'll meet you down there," he says.

"You got it," T-Dog nods and then slaps his hand on his shoulder again. "Hell of a good job in there, boss."

Daryl nearly flushes at that and watches as T-Dog bounces on down the stairs to the first floor where there is a little shop that sells papers from all over the country, magazines, soda, cigarettes and candy. But Daryl knows T is going because there's a cute girl who works behind the counter who T likes to give his best smiles to.

Daryl turns and heads further on down the hall. He had seen Spencer's name on the board downstairs that had names and room numbers listed and he heads to office 226 now. The mayor's office, it said on the board, is room 223 and Daryl hopes that he can get in to see Spencer without running into the other man; especially since Daryl's pretty sure he didn't vote for him. And for such a small town, it really doesn't matter to Daryl what kind of mayor the man is since it never seems to directly affect him personally but Spencer has definitely said enough things about him where Daryl can't help but have an opinion form – whether it's a right opinion or not. A persnickety old, slightly racist, man who might be past his political prime.

Daryl wonders if Spencer wants to run for Mayor someday. Daryl might actually vote in that election if he does.

He's not too sure what he's doing. Yes, he's in Town Hall this morning and he knows Spencer works at Town Hall so there's nothing wrong with him going and saying hi. After all, Spencer is a friend of Beth's and they've hung out so Daryl doesn't think it will be _too_ weird. At least, he can't see why it would be weird. But maybe it will weird Spencer out.

Daryl slows his steps down. No, he shouldn't bother him. Even if it's not weird to just stop by and see him, it's in the middle of the morning. Spencer is probably working on something important and Daryl shouldn't interrupt him.

"Hey, Daryl."

Daryl turns around quickly to see Spencer standing there, with a cup of coffee and a plate with a slice of cake on it in his hand. It's not even noon but his hair is in disarray as if he's spent the past few hours raking his fingers through it and his tie is already loose around his neck. He doesn't seem surprised in the least to see Daryl in the hallway outside his office.

Daryl is trying to think of something to say that will explain why he's there, but Spencer just walks past him, pushing the plate of cake into his hands.

"Here, I've already had three pieces," Spencer says and continues walking to his office. Daryl hesitates a moment before following him.

Spencer's office is bigger than he expected but it's still a mess with stacks of paper everywhere and Daryl wonders if all of this paper is necessary in running a town. There's a window behind his desk that overlooks the parking lot behind the Town Hall that lets in more than enough of natural light and there's a chair in front of his desk that Spencer now picks up a stack of papers from and drops them heavily onto the top of one of the filing cabinets he has against the wall.

"Sit, man," Spencer says and then walks around his covered desk, collapsing into the chair.

Daryl does sit, still holding the plate of cake. "Wha's the occasion?" He asks.

There's a framed photograph of Spencer and Rosita on the desk and another with a man who looks a little older than Spencer with some shared facial features. Daryl figures that's his brother or something. And then there's a third picture framed of Rosita, Spencer and Beth, all wearing fancy clothes and at some party or wedding reception.

Daryl's eyes linger on Beth's smiling face. He can't believe he kissed her this morning and he's been waiting for some form of guilt to pass over him for doing it, but it hasn't come yet. His conscious can't seem to find a reason to feel guilty for grabbing Beth and kissing her.

Because there's no reason to feel guilty. He's single and so is she and he has found himself liking her more and more with each passing day. There's just something about her. He can't explain it but he finds himself fascinated with her in a way he's never been towards any other girl before. Not even Amy.

"One of our clerks, May, is retiring," Spencer says. "Lucky bitch," he then mutters and Daryl's lips crack into a small smile as he leans forward and slides the plate of cake onto the desk without taking a bite. His mom's spoiled him with her own cakes and this one looks store-bought with way too much of that over-sugared icing he's not a fan of. "So, how'd it go down the hall?" He asks. "I like your shirt," he then says before Daryl can answer.

Daryl looks down to the Dixon Construction tee-shirt he's wearing; the one Beth had taken the time to get made for him. When she had given it to him this morning, she had acted as if it was no big deal whatsoever but in all honesty, it is damn-near _everything_. No one has ever done something like this for him and with Beth, doing something good and kind when it doesn't benefit her, too, is just so Beth and he still has no idea how he came to be in her life. Why the hell would she ever want a guy like him in her life? He can't think of anything he does that is completely selfless.

Kissing her after seeing the tee-shirt was the only thing that made sense to him right then.

He's been thinking of Beth nearly the entire morning and what she thinks of the kiss. Is she just going to pretend that it was something that never happened? She probably will. It makes perfect sense to Daryl if that's what she does. Who the hell would ever want to admit that not only did Daryl Dixon kiss them but that they actually liked it?

"It went good," Daryl answers Spencer's question. "Gave the committee some of my own ideas for the gazebo and they actually liked 'em. Me and T got the job and we can start next week. Gotta get 'em a quote though of how much materials are gonna be."

Spencer smiles. "Knew they'd like you."

"Thanks for even thinkin' of me in the first place," Daryl says and Spencer shrugs like it's no big deal and to him, it probably isn't. It doesn't really surprise Daryl that Beth's friends are pretty much as good a people as she is. "I kissed Beth this mornin'," Daryl then hears himself blurt out and there's absolutely no reason for him to say that because why the hell would he and to Spencer when he's got a brother and other friends?

But Spencer just keeps on smiling; the smile a little wider now. "Oh, yeah?" He asks.

Daryl exhales a heavy breath. Too late to take it back now. He thinks of Merle and his other friends. He knows they would slap Daryl on the back and be so damn happy that it seems like he's finally moving on from Amy and everyone in town loves the Doc so he'd probably get congratulations on that, too, And then, they would probably ask him when he was going to sleep with her. Well, Shane and Merle would definitely ask that.

Maybe he told Spencer just now because he knows Spencer won't do any of that.

"Yeah," Daryl nods his head once. "Thinkin' I need to take her out."

"Need to or want to?" Spencer sits up in his chair a bit. His phone on his desk begins ringing but he ignores it; as if this conversation is much more important to him right now then whatever is being offered on the other end of the phone.

"Want to," Daryl says, almost mumbling the answer, his ears feeling a bit warm to him. He blames the sun pouring in through the window and making the office air feel a little stuffy. The phone stops ringing only to start ringing again a second later. Daryl gets to his feet. "I'll let you get that," he says and steps towards the door.

Spencer stands up, too. "Where were you thinking of taking her?" He asks.

Daryl stops and after a moment of thinking it through, he shrugs. He actually has no idea where he would take a girl like Beth on a date. When he and Amy went out, it was usually almost always to the diner or to Joe's bar, but with Beth, he doesn't want to just repeat history. It's time to get the hell away from Amy for good. And besides, Beth deserves more.

"She like Mexican?" Daryl asks, because he realizes that he doesn't actually know that much about her when it comes to things like this and there's not that many options in their town where he can take her. There's no way he's taking her to the diner. That's not exactly what he needs. His mom witnessing his first date with the Doc.

Spencer is back to grinning and he nods his head. "She _loves_ Mexican. And she doesn't look like it, but she can eat a lot, so be prepared for that."

Daryl leaves Spencer's office with a plan.

He'll go home this evening – he's not too sure when he's begun thinking of the farm as actually being home – and Beth will be there and he'll ask her out. Right and proper. Like a guy who likes a girl because he does. He likes her. Really likes her. And he really has no idea when it happened or when it even started, but it's the simple truth. He really likes her and he wants to take her out and even hours later, he can still taste her on his lips. And he knows one thing with absolute certainty.

Amy never tasted this good.

…

The farmhouse is empty that evening when he walks in through the door, Louis trotting past him, heading straight to the kitchen for his water dish.

"Beth?" He calls out though the house is silent and it's pretty damn obvious no one's home.

Damn it. He had come home, ready to actually talk with her and ask her out and he's been nervous about it all day but he's built himself up until he felt ready to actually do it. And now, she's not here and he slowly feels himself deflate because of it.

He had been running this over in his head all day. Either she'll smile when she sees him or she won't. If she doesn't smile, Daryl won't mention the kiss. He'll pretend that nothing happened this morning and he won't ask her out for Mexican. But if she does smile… if she does smile, Daryl thinks he just might kiss her again before asking her out.

He goes upstairs to change out of his work tee-shirt so he won't get anything on it and tugging on one of his plain black tee-shirts, he heads back downstairs again. He fills Louis' bowl with kibble and Daryl then goes to the pantry, pulling down a box of spaghetti noodles. He doesn't know where Beth is – maybe she's already eating dinner somewhere – but if she comes home and she hasn't eaten yet, there will be plenty for her.

Daryl's at the stove, stirring the pot of mushroom pasta sauce when he hears the truck outside. Beth always parks in the back and glancing out one of the windows, he can see that it's definitely her. Louis is already at the back door, wagging his tail, ready to greet her. Daryl snaps his fingers at him and the dog obediently sits but his tail remains wagging, sweeping back and forth across the floor.

There are footsteps on the back steps and the creaking of the screen door as she opens it and Daryl reminds himself to put some oil on those hinges and then Beth enters the kitchen. Louis stands on his feet but he doesn't jump on her and Beth smiles, leaning into him and bending down, immediately rubbing his ears.

"And how was your day today, Louis?" Beth asks and laughs as Louis licks at her chin eagerly as she continues rubbing his ears. "I had a wonderful day, too."

Daryl stays by the stove, watching her. Just watching her. Her cheeks are a little more flushed than they usually are and her hair has been swept up into a messy knot at the base of her neck. She's just wearing blue jeans that hug her legs and a lightweight purple and black plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the her elbows and she's so damn pretty like that. He can't stop looking at her. And he wondered when this whole thing started. When did he start looking at her and not stop? When did he realize that Amy isn't the only girl in this world? Around the same time?

Beth lifts her eyes then and instantly meets his.

And then, she smiles.

And Daryl releases a lungful of air as if he's been holding it without even realizing, waiting for that smile. And though he's thought about just walking right up to her and kissing her when he sees that smile, he's able to hold himself back. Just because Beth's smiling doesn't mean that she wants him to kiss her again.

"'m makin' spaghetti if you haven' eaten yet," he tells her and his voice sounds rough even to his own ears.

"That sounds delicious. Rosita and I were eating Reese's Pieces and drinking wine, so I definitely need some other kind of actual food in my stomach," she smiles and he finds himself smiling a little at that, too. Beth stares at him, her smile softening, still stretched across her lips. "You're smiling," she then says as if she's never seen anything more amazing than that.

He just nods and looks back to the pot on the stove, the sauce starting to bubble. "Guess I am," he says in a quiet voice.

He listens as Beth begins humming as she gathers plates from the cabinet and silverware from the drawer and begins setting the table. Louis has gone back to eating his kibble and Daryl carries the pot of boiling noodles to the strainer in the sink. It all feels so normal. Like _home_. And he can't help it. He thinks back to Amy and the house he lived in with her. And when did he _stop_ thinking of that house as being his home? When she all but kicked him out? Or when he moved into the farmhouse? Or was it even before all of that?

He can't remember nights at home like this – just the two of them. He knows they must have had them. It's not like they went out to Joe's or the diner every single night but he honestly can't remember any time he had had with Amy like this with Beth right now.

Paulie has said it more than once. Daryl needs to get money from Amy. He helped her pay for that house, buying Andrea's share even though Andrea told them that they didn't have to. Amy had been ready to take her sister's word, but Daryl had wanted to pay her. It had been the right and fair thing to do. And he knows that that's why he won't ask Amy for any of his money back. Maybe to some people, that would be right and fair, too, but if it hadn't been for him, Amy would have never needed that money to buy the house. She shouldn't have to pay him back for something he all but forced her into buying.

 _That was always one of your problems, Daryl. Always acting like my dad instead of a boyfriend_ , Amy's voice echoes in his mind.

And why the fuck is her voice in his mind at all? He's over her.

And when he tells himself, there's no argument from his mind to tell him otherwise. That's the truth of the matter. He's over her. He's moved on.

Slowly, but surely, the light switch flipped.

"Hey," Beth says his name gently then and he's startled when he feels her fingertips lightly on his head, brushing between his eyebrows. He turns his head to look at her and he's still standing at the sink and she has come to stand next to him. She gives him a faint smile.

"'m fine," he tells her.

Beth looks at him, closely as if she's making sure. "I don't like to see you scowl."

"'m sorry," he says almost automatically.

Beth shakes her head and gives him that faint smile of hers. "Let's eat," she then suggests.

He takes the pot of pasta and Beth gets the smaller pot of sauce and they meet at the table. They sit down at the small table across from one another and Louis plants himself at their sides just in case they decide he needs some noodles and sauce, too.

"So," Beth says, once they have served themselves and begin eating. "Are you going to tell me or am I going to have to guess?"

He smirks a little at her and he can hear the mixture of enthusiasm and teasing in her voice. "Wen' alrigh'," he shrugs, being casual about the whole thing. "They really liked my ideas."

"Well, of course they did," Beth says it so matter-of-factly; as if there was never any doubt.

Daryl lifts his eyes and looks at her; watching her as she twirls noodles around her fork.

He swallows, his throat feeling too dry all of a sudden. He gets up to get a glass of water and he fills one for her, too, without asking her if she wants one.

"Do you like Mexican food?" He asks as he comes back to the table.

And Beth looks up at him as he lowers himself back into his chair and it makes him think that she's been expecting this question already. Fucking Spencer, he growls to himself.

"I love Mexican. It's always been my favorite," she says.

He exhales a deep breath because even though he already knew it, hearing it from her mouth instead of Spencer's makes him feel a bit better. That confidence he had come home with is slowly starting to build up once more, moving upwards in his chest.

"Would you wanna go get some Mexican with me sometime?" He asks.

And then he almost immediately cringes. Sometime? What the hell is that? That's not how a guy asks a girl out. But how the hell does a guy ask a girl out? He can't remember how he had done it with Amy, but even if he could remember, he doesn't want to do this the same way. He's already told himself that. With Beth, if there's anything that's going to happen, he wants to make sure that it's nothing like anything he's already done before.

He wonders if she gets as nervous around him as he gets around her. Does her stomach always churn and roll as if he's constantly dropping down the first hill of a roller-coaster? He can't imagine it though. Beth always seems pretty much in control.

He hears a small giggle and he looks at Beth to see that she's looking at him, smiling; practically glowing. And she just seems so damn happy and he wonders why she always seems like that. And he feels like he's going to smile, too. So he does.

And at the sight of him smiling, it, for some reason, makes her smile even the more; so wide, the corners of her eyes are crinkled and she's practically laughing.

"I would love to go get some Mexican with you sometime," Beth says.

She leans over in her chair then and Daryl just follows her lead, leaning in over his. Her arms slide over his shoulders and around his neck and one of his hands slide up her arm before sweeping to the back of her neck. They lean in at the same time and their lips meet and Beth seems to instantly sigh against his mouth and all but melt into him. Daryl cups the back of her neck and his mouth opens against hers, coaxing her to do the same because he hasn't tasted her since this morning and too many hours have passed and he needs to taste her again. He nearly feels himself groan when Beth follows his lead and opens her mouth and she's the one to dive her tongue into his mouth before he can.

What the hell is this girl doing to him? He doesn't do this. He's never been the sort to just kiss a girl and ask her out on a date and then kiss her again as if he'll go insane if he doesn't.

Daryl doesn't know how long they kiss. He loses all sense of time as his head spins and he tastes her as if he's trying to drink himself into oblivion.

All he does know is when their mouths finally do separate, they are both panting and Beth is flushed, but she's smiling at him and Daryl smiles back. He doesn't know how much time has passed, but enough for Louis to get bored and curl up sleeping on the floor and their spaghetti sits on their plates, cold and forgotten.

…

* * *

 **Thank you so much for reading and please take a moment to comment!**

 **First date (and Amy) in the next chapter.**


	18. Rio Rancho

**I had such a good vacation and it felt so good to give my mind a break. The support this story is receiving makes me feel so warm and happy inside so thank you so, so much for that.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Eighteen.** Rio Rancho.

She has no idea why she's nervous. It makes absolutely no sense to her. They already live together and they've already kissed – more than once – and isn't that what most people are nervous about when they go on a first date? But her stomach has been in a perpetual knot ever since she came down the stairs earlier and Daryl was there, waiting to take her out. Maybe it's because she likes him. _Really_ likes him. And she's so ridiculously happy and excited to be going out on a date with him, but it's still Daryl and they are friends but now they have the chance of possibly being something more and it's all a bit nerve-wracking.

"Stay," Daryl commands once he's parked the truck in a space in the restaurant's parking lot and Beth smiles, almost letting out a giddy giggle, as Daryl gets out and walks around the front of the truck, coming to her door and opening it for her.

"You don't have to do that," she tells him – just as she told him when he opened the door for her as they left the farm – and she slides out of the truck, looking up at him.

Daryl just shrugs though. "My ma would slap me upside the head if she found out I didn't open the door for you."

Beth's smile grows a bit wider. "So, a grown man like you is afraid of their mama?"

Daryl's lips twitch in that way they always do and he shoves his hands into the front pockets of the blue jeans he's wearing that night. "You've met Paulie," he responds and Beth lets out a soft laugh at that.

They walk to the restaurant's main entrance together, side by side. There had been a rain that swept through town earlier that day and with it, it brought a cooler temperature and the puddles of water and wet pavement sparkle underneath the parking lot lights. They are both casual – Daryl in jeans and a gray tee-shirt and Beth in jeans, as well, along with one of her light-weight plaid shirts, this one pink and white. She likes that they're casual tonight. Maybe that means that they're both comfortable with each other? That's what she hopes anyway. Although she rather enjoys the mental image, she can't imagine Daryl wearing anything formal like a suit and being at ease in it. And that's what she wants when he's around her. She doesn't want him to feel any sort of pressure about tonight.

At the main door, Daryl reaches it first and he pulls it open for her, letting her step in first, and she flashes him a smile as she passes.

"I didn' know if we'd need it, but I called and made us a reservation," Daryl tells her as they approach the hostess stand.

Beth's not sure why but she feels a warmth in her chest from learning that. Earlier, for a few minutes, she had begun worrying and self-doubting that perhaps, Daryl felt some sort of obligation to take her out since he kissed her. But if he hadn't really wanted to take her out and was just doing it because perhaps, that was what he was _supposed_ to do, he wouldn't have made the time to or cared that much about making a reservation.

It's Thursday night and the Mexican restaurant in town, Rio Rancho, has plenty of tables open, but when Daryl tells the hostess his name – as if everyone in town doesn't already know everyone else – she takes two menus and with a bright smile, she leads them to a cozy table for two against one of the windows.

Beth opens the menu and smiles. "You brought me here just for 2-for-1 margarita night, didn't you?" She teases him when she sees the flyer tucked inside, advertising the special.

"Yep," Daryl answers, not missing a beat, opening his own menu. "Figured you were a closet booze-hound and this will take it easy on my wallet."

She laughs at that and he doesn't lift his eyes to look at her but she sees him smiling. He has such a darn-good looking smile and she wants to make him smile as much as she possibly can. She doesn't know nearly enough about things from his life – just what she has heard from other people in town and that does _not_ count – but she has a feeling that Daryl has been through enough things that have kept him from wanting to smile and it might be too full of herself to think of it, but she wants to try and give him reasons to smile.

"If you wanna get a margarita, you can," Daryl then says and he looks at her now. "You can get anythin' on the menu that you wan'."

Beth smiles at him. "You should see me after one glass of wine. Lord only knows what a margarita would do to me. I'm just going to get a Coke. Coke in Mexican restaurants is the absolute best. Have you ever been to the Coke museum in Atlanta?" She asks.

Daryl shakes his head, not moving his eyes from her as a busboy comes to their table, setting down two glasses of water along with a basket of tortilla chips and a bowl of salsa.

"Well, they let you try samples of Coke from all over the world and Mexican Coke uses real sugar and holy crap, it's delicious," she says and Daryl smiles a little at that.

"We should do that," he says after a moment. He takes a chip and dips it into the salsa. "Go to the Coke Museum. It sounds pretty neat."

"It is," Beth nods, hoping she isn't appearing too eager. "And I'd love to go with you."

Her stomach knot tightens a bit more. He's making plans of more things for them to do together. That's a good sign. Isn't it? She wishes that she was able to just flat out and ask him certain things but, although she's never been afraid of talking, she honestly doesn't know how to word these particular questions to pose to him.

He kissed her so that must mean that he likes her. But just how much does he like her? Beth can't imagine Daryl just going around, kissing any girl around him. This is a man who feels deeply for a person. One just had to look at his relationship with Amy and how long it took him to get over her for proof of that. At least, Beth _thinks_ he's over his ex-girlfriend. She hopes and prays he is. But that's another question she can't find the right words to ask him. She tries to tell herself that if Daryl isn't over Amy completely, there's no way he would have asked her out on a date; let alone kiss her in the first place.

"Good evening," their waitress appears at their table. "Can I get you two anything to drink?"

"I'll have a Coke," Beth smiles up at the woman.

"Me, too," Daryl adds. The waitress leaves and Beth smiles at him. "Usually just get Coronas when I'm 'ere."

"You won't regret this," Beth promises him and he smirks a little. "Do you know what you're going to order?" She then asks.

She tries not to act like an idiot when they both reach into the chip basket at the same time and their fingers wind up brushing together.

"Always get the chicken enchilada. Wha' 'bout you?"

"Cheese quesadilla. Can't go wrong," she smiles. "It's weird, but when I was in college, I could get almost anything I wanted, living in Atlanta, but most days, I missed things from here. When my friends and I ordered pizza, I'd eat it and think how much I miss Pesto's. And no one can make a stack of pancakes as fluffy as Dale can. And cheese quesadillas in Atlanta don't taste as delicious as they do from here."

Daryl's quiet for a moment, crunching on a chip. He then shrugs. "Don't sound weird to me."

"Maggie and Shawn were _always_ restless living here. Maggie, more than once, said that living here was stifling her. And I never understood that, because here, it really feels like the only place in the whole world where I can breathe."

Beth's not too sure why she's just said that to him, but now that she has, she feels slightly embarrassed, and she turns her head, pretending to be looking out the window.

"When we were younger than we are now, Merle would leave a lot," Daryl says and Beth slowly moves her eyes away from the window to look at him. She is expecting him to be looking anywhere else besides her, but instead, his eyes meet hers when she turns her head back towards him. "He's served a couple stints in prison, but those weren't the only times he was gone. Sometimes, me and ma would wake up and he just wouldn' be there anymore. Ma tried to act like it didn' worry her and she always said that Merle just has a restless spirit, whatever that means," Daryl shrugs then. "I think Merle was jus' obsessed with the idea that maybe, somewhere in the world was better than here."

Beth almost feels as if she's holding her breath, her chest feeling tight for some reason.

"And what about you?" She is finally able to ask.

Daryl shrugs again, reaching for another chip. "Could never see myself livin' anywhere else 'cept here." And as if he can feel Beth's smile at that, he lifts his eyes and looks at her for a moment before he smiles a little, too.

Their waitress returns with their Cokes and takes their food order before leaving again.

"Just to warn you, I'm going over to your mom's house again on Saturday," Beth tells him.

"'nother girl's night?"

"Sort of. She's going to be teaching me how to make pecan pie," Beth says and then smiles, almost laughing. "And I'm sure she'll want to hear all about tonight. Did you tell her that we were coming here tonight?"

"Sort of. I told her I was goin' out with you. I let her think whatever she wanted 'bout that. I also figured that someone here would go report back to her 'bout us bein' here."

"Small towns are wonderful for that," Beth laughs a little, taking another chip and dunking the corner of it into the salsa bowl. "Of course, the person reporting to her might just think we're out, eating dinner as friends," she comments.

Daryl shakes his head. "They'd be wrong then."

 _Whoosh_.

Beth almost can't breathe when she feels the whoosh sweeping through her stomach.

"Can I ask you something?" She then asks of him.

Daryl doesn't say anything. He just nods, looking at her.

"When you and Amy… where did you go out for your dates?" She is able to ask him and she has no idea where that sudden bout of bravery has come from. "You don't have to answer," she then quickly makes sure she adds, just in case he's under the assumption that he has to.

"Don't have a problem answerin'," Daryl tells her. "And you're assumin' me and Amy went out on dates like this."

Beth's brow wrinkles a little. "So, what did you do instead?"

"Go to Joe's mostly," Daryl says while taking another chip. "Or to the diner. Only went somewhere different when we first started datin'."

Beth wants to comment on that, but she's not too sure what to say. She still has no idea why she had asked him that in the first place. Talking about the ex-girlfriend isn't exactly an ideal topic of conversation for a first date and thinking about Amy is the last thing Beth wants Daryl to have on his mind tonight while out with her.

"And wha' do I need to know 'bout you? What ex-boyfriends do you have?" Daryl asks and the question makes Beth laugh for some reason.

She shakes her head. "Well, one's the town dentist now and we have already decided that we are friends and nothing more and the one I had in college, Josh, he's already married so I don't think he'll be a problem for you."

Daryl's lips twitch. "Can't really imagine you and Zach together, to be honest."

"That makes two of us," Beth agrees with a smile. "But really, how many of us are lucky enough to date the person we're meant to be with when we're sixteen? He was Captain of the soccer team and I was considered one of the pretty girls and we were just kind of pushed to be together. I don't think we had anything in common. I hear he is a pretty good dentist now though," she then adds as if an afterthought.

Daryl smirks at that and Beth smiles.

"What do we have in common?" Daryl then asks, sounding genuinely curious as if he's been thinking about that himself.

Beth takes a sip of her Coke through the straw and thinks it through though she supposes that she really doesn't have to. "We both love animals and this town." She pauses to take another sip of Coke. "And your mom's cakes and Jacqui's puff pastries. Writing checks… and the movies in the park. At least, I think we both love those. And by the way, they're showing _Jaws_ tomorrow night and you're coming," she informs him and he smirks a little again.

"Bossin' me 'round already?" He jokes.

"Yep. When it comes to scary movies, you have no choice," she informs him.

"Good to know," Daryl replies with twitching lips.

When their waitress returns to their table with their plates of food and fresh glasses of Coke, the door to the restaurant is yanked open and a group of people practically tumble in, all laughing and calling back and forth to one another.

"2 for 1!" One of them shouts.

Beth's back is to the door and she glances over her shoulder to look at the disturbance. And when she sees it, she nearly wants to laugh. Of course. _Of course_. The universe must have decided that because she and Daryl are on a date – their first date – they clearly need a wrench thrown into their plans to keep things interesting.

The group all goes to the bar in the middle of the restaurant and Beth looks to the blonde among the other people for a moment before she slowly moves her eyes back to Daryl to see if he's looking at her, too. But instead, Daryl is cutting into his enchilada and taking his first bite. She can't tell whether he sees Amy or not and if he's just able to ignore her.

"So you don't like scary movies, huh?" Daryl asks. "Suppose that's not surprisin'."

Beth pretends to be offended. "And why isn't that surprising? I could be ridiculously brave, Daryl Dixon," she says but he just smiles before taking another bite of enchilada.

Beth remembers her quesadilla and focuses on eating that and does her best to ignore the rather loud group at the bar, who, from the sounds of it, really don't need any more alcohol.

"When I was younger, my parents were out and Shawn was babysitting me. He decided that I should watch _Alien_ , which, he told me, was a story about a group of astronauts who discover an adorable alien on a distant planet and they all become friends."

Daryl lets out a snort at that.

"I should have known better considering the tag to the movie is "In space, no one can hear you scream"," she frowns and it looks as if Daryl is trying very hard to not let out a laugh. "It terrified me, of course. And I swear. Sometimes, when I get a stomachache, to this day, I'm convinced an alien is about to rip itself out of me."

This time, it seems as if Daryl can no longer contain himself and he lets out a laugh at that. And just hearing him laugh, it makes Beth smile happily. But then there is another explosion of laughter and cheers from the bar and Beth can't help but tense up at the noise. She can't help but glance to the scene. She recognizes those there. She doesn't know them personally but she recognizes them. There is Amy and Randall and the others from Randall's band along with their girlfriends. Some are around her age and others are a little older but even though they have that in common, Beth has never been like that. She's never been a huge drinker and even in college, she chose to stay in on a Friday or Saturday night more than go to one of the house parties off campus. She has always liked staying home – much to the chagrin of her older sister and friends.

Maybe that's why she feels so comfortable with Daryl. He's older than her, yes, but she feels older than she really is.

"You want to take our dinners to go?" Daryl asks, instantly getting her attention again.

"Why? Do you?" She asks, looking at him with slightly widened eyes.

He gives his head a shake. "You keep lookin' over there. If they're makin' you uncomfortable, we can go."

Beth shakes her head. "No," she answers truthfully. "I'm fine." She manages to give him a smile she means. "I just… I just wished they weren't here."

"When I was younger, I'd go to the diner after school and I'd do my homework in the kitchen, Dale watchin' me and makin' sure I did it," Daryl says rather unexpectedly and Beth is confused for a moment at what he's saying before she catches onto what he's doing.

He's trying to distract her.

She gives him a smile to show her thanks. She just wishes she knew how he is looking so relaxed right now. After all, he's the one who has the ex ten feet away.

"And when I was done with it, I'd get up and help 'im on the grill. Irma and 'im never had any kids of their own and I think they just kind of adopted me. And my ma, too."

Beth smiles at that. "That's really sweet."

Daryl shrugs, pausing to chew on another bite of enchilada. "Think Dale just wanted to help me out. No secret I didn' have much of a father figure growin' up. 'cept for Merle. When he was 'round."

Beth wants to ask more about his father but she doesn't feel like a Mexican restaurant with a drunken crown just a few feet away is the ideal location to talk about Will Dixon.

"Will you be offended if I ask what Merle was in prison for?" She asks instead.

"Ain't a secret to most. Bein' stupid and drugs," Daryl answers her. "Sometimes, I think Merle might hate me a lil'. We're brothers, but we turned out completely different. Had two different lives and sometimes, I think Merle wishes that I was jus' like 'im."

Beth shakes her head. "You're wrong about that. Merle adores you."

Daryl shakes his head slightly as if he can't possibly agree with that and he eats his dinner for a few minutes without saying anything else. He finishes his plate and a few more minutes after that, Beth finishes her.

"Damn," he says. "For a lil' thing, you eat a lot."

Beth blushes and lets out a little laugh. "Is that supposed to be a compliment or insult?"

"Can't get closer to you like I wan' if I insult you," he says while giving their waitress a signal that they're ready for the check.

 _Whoosh_.

There it is again.

She had confided in Paulie that she has wanted to feel whooshes in her stomach more than anything and now, with Daryl, she feels them constantly and she wonders if she'll ever get used to them. Is that even really something she wants to get used to?

The group at the bar is getting louder and Beth can't help but be uncomfortable with being in the same space as them and she doesn't understand how Daryl isn't. As soon as he's finished counting out cash for the bill, Beth stands up and she doesn't wait for him as she leaves the restaurant. Seconds later, Daryl is beside her and she feels him looking at her. Without a word, she feels brave and she reaches her hand out to take hold of his.

At the pickup truck, Daryl opens the side passenger door for her and she smiles up at him.

"Thank you for dinner tonight," she says. "It was delicious."

"Figured you liked it with the way you wolfed it down," he smirks and she pokes him in the side, getting him to smile.

"I thought you weren't going to insult me?" She laughs.

Daryl is still smiling and he takes a step closer to her. She stands completely still as he lifts his hands, placing them on her cheeks, staring into her eyes.

 _Whoosh_.

Beth feels it rush across her stomach yet again as he lowers his lips to hers and in the parking lot of Rio Rancho, Daryl kisses her, softly and gently, and she has to circle her arms around his neck because her knees are feeling weak and she doesn't trust herself to not fall over right now.

The kiss isn't a long one but it keeps the whooshes constant and when Daryl pulls his head back and looks down at her, Beth feels like it's a miracle that she's still breathing. He doesn't say anything but he gives her a little smile, almost as if he's shy about the whole thing, before he pushes himself away and walks around to the other side of the truck.

Beth takes a moment, getting her breath back, and when she turns to climb into the truck, her eyes float back towards the restaurant. And in the windows of the front doors, she sees someone standing there, looking out towards the parking lot; towards _them_. And Beth doesn't have to be Sherlock Holmes to realize who it is. Amy's standing there, watching them; watching Daryl kiss her.

How long has Amy been standing there and why is she watching them in the first place?

Did Daryl see her standing there, watching them? That isn't why he just suddenly kissed her like that, is it? Maybe he saw Amy watching them and he wanted to make her jealous. He wouldn't do something like that… Would he?

Beth has no idea if that's the truth of it or not, but it seems like the instant the thought makes itself known in her mind, all remnants of the whoosh leaves her stomach.

She glances towards Daryl and she swears. He looks towards the doors of the restaurant as if he knows that Amy is standing there.

…

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 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review.**

 **Movie night in the park and both Paulie and Merle in the next chapter.**


	19. You'll Be Here

**You guys are awesome. I can't say that enough. I really love how this chapter turned out and I hope you love it, too!**

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…

 **Chapter Nineteen.** You'll Be Here.

When Beth comes into the kitchen through the back door, she looks like she's sleep walking, and Daryl immediately pours her a cup of coffee, bringing it to her.

"Thanks," she gives him a tired smile before cupping the mug with both hands and closing her eyes as she takes a sip. Louis is looking up at her, wagging his tail, excited as always to see her, and she manages to give him a rub behind one of his ears even as she yawns.

"I was makin' breakfast," Daryl tells her, watching her closely; as if he's expecting her to just fall asleep right where she stands.

Beth looks up at him with a small smile. "That sounds wonderful."

And then, as if she needs his help, his hand lightly rests on her back and he guides her to the table. Once she's sitting, sipping her coffee, he returns to the stove where he's working on frying up eggs and bacon. He's learned in the time since he's moved in that sunny side up eggs are one of Beth's favorite foods and would seem to choose to eat it for nearly every meal if the option was available to her.

The call had come just after midnight. Paul Jameson, who owned a nearby dairy farm, had a cow in the throes of labor and Paul wasn't able to get the calf turned in preparation for birth. He had called Beth for help and she had been over there for the rest of the night, helping bring the healthy calf into the world.

"Paul's promised me milk on the house for the next few weeks," Beth smiles as Daryl comes and sets a plate heaping with three eggs and five slices of bacon down in front of her.

Daryl smiles a little at that and returns to the table a few minutes later with his own breakfast. They eat quietly for a few minutes – a comfortable quiet that Daryl supposes he is still getting used to. He doesn't think he's ever had this level of comfort with someone who isn't his mom. And if he has had this before, he can't remember it. He definitely can't remember having it with Amy. If she wasn't filling the silence, it was usually because she was pissed about something. Now that he can look back on it with a clear mind, Daryl realizes that near the end of it between them, Amy always seemed pissed off over one thing or another and he doesn't know why he hadn't been able to see it at the time.

"This is delicious, Daryl. Thank you," Beth smiles at him. "Mexican last night and now, breakfast this morning. I'm feeling spoiled. And very full."

And he gives her a small smile at that in return. "Are you goin' to bed after this?" He asks.

"I wish," she shakes her head. "I have appointments scheduled this morning. I do plan on taking a shower, though. I smell like _I_ just gave birth to a calf."

He smiles a little at that and when he sees that she's finished eating – everything that he had piled onto her plate now gone – he stands up, carrying both of their empty plates to the sink. He hears Beth get up behind him.

"You don't have to do that, Daryl," she tells him. "You have work to get to, too."

He just shrugs and doesn't say anything as he rinses the dishes off and loads them into the dishwasher. He then goes to the stove for the frying pan. A moment passes and then Beth is standing at the sink beside him, taking the pan from him and rinsing it off herself.

"There was a rule between my daddy and mom. Whoever cooked didn't have to clean," she tells him and he looks at her as she rinses the pan, washing that by hand, and then rinses the silverware, putting that down into the dishwasher.

He doesn't get it. She's been up all night, her arms buried up to her elbows inside of a cow – literally – and she still seems so pretty to him. Her hair is pulled into two braids with a few strands getting loose, hanging in her face, and she's wearing a pair of skintight black yoga capris – and he only knows what they're called because Amy has a ton of them – and a red Atlanta Falcons tee-shirt. And she's right. She doesn't smell too good right now, but he, personally, has smelt worse.

He wonders what her reaction will be, but for once, he acts without letting it stop him. He leans in and kisses her gently on the temple and Beth looks up at him, obviously surprised by the affection, but then she seems to melt into a smile and she turns to him. She doesn't wrap her arms around him – still soapy and wet from washing the pan – but she turns and rests her head on his chest. And Daryl can't stop himself from resting his lips to the top of her head. He's never really been a fan of affectionate like this and he doesn't know what the hell he's doing, but it feels pretty good.

And Beth seems to like it. He can't see her face, but he can _hear_ her smiling.

He briefly wonders what the hell the Doc is doing to him.

"We still goin' to see _Jaws_ tonight?" He asks. "Or are you gonna be too tired?"

"Of course we're still seeing _Jaws_." Beth pulls her head back so she can look up at him, giving him a frown that wouldn't intimidate a mouse. "Are you trying to get out of it?"

"Course not," he smirks a little. "I've got a few jobs to see to today so I might be a lil' late, but I'll be there."

"I know you will be." She gives him a soft smile that makes his chest feel tight; as if everything held in place by his rib-cage is trying to break through because they don't have enough room now. He's never felt anything like that before and he's not sure what it is.

He and Louis leave the house a few minutes later – Daryl giving Beth a kiss on her forehead before she heads upstairs to take her shower – and he and the dog climb into the pickup. It's just six o'clock in the morning, but already, the humidity is making him feel as if he just stepped from the shower. Louis is panting heavily as if he's dying of thirst and as Daryl drives down the long dirt driveway towards the main road, Daryl turns the truck's AC on full blast and points two of the vents onto the dog.

He drives into town and parks in the diner's parking lot. Since it's way too hot for Louis to sit out in the bed like he usually does, he lets Louis follow after him as Daryl heads inside. As usual, the diner is crowded with guys getting off their shift at the factory or people heading into work and stopping for a bite to eat before punching in the clock. No one blinks an eye at Louis trotting after Daryl as he heads towards the counter where Rick and Shane are sitting and there's an empty stool beside Rick.

"What's up, Dixon?" Shane asks.

"Hey," Daryl lets out a grunt and turns his cup over. His mom appears a moment later with a pot of coffee and she fills his cup nearly to the brim.

"What you want, honey?" She asks.

"Already ate. Jus' needed more coffee," he tells her.

"Doris Jameson was in here earlier, picking up some breakfast for her and Paul, and she was just singing the Doc's praises to high heaven," Paulie says.

"Yeah. Beth jus' got home a lil' bit ago. Had a long night of it," Daryl says.

"How's that going?" Rick asks him, cutting into the massive omelet on his plate.

"Heard you guys were on a date last night," Shane smirks at him.

Daryl doesn't say anything; not even when his mom gasps. He just sips at his coffee and watches as Shane tosses a piece of bacon down to Louis.

"You jus' told me that you and Beth were goin' out. You didn' say it was a date," Paulie says and he looks at her, seeing her eyes narrowed at him.

He just shrugs. "Told you I was goin' out with her. That was the truth." Paulie's eyes seem to narrow even more and Daryl nearly smirks, but he wisely catches himself before he does. He looks to Shane and Rick. "Who told you I was out with her?" He asks.

"I've been sleepin' with one of the waitresses at Rio Rancho, but I ain't gonna tell you which one because her husband is one of the cooks at Rio Rancho," Shane answers with a sly smirk and Daryl nearly rolls his eyes.

"A man of the law can still be shot down like a dog, Deputy Walsh," Paulie tells him.

"You threatenin' me, Paulie?" Shane grins at her.

Rick's quiet as he chews on a bite of omelet and he then looks to Daryl. "So, does this mean you've moved on from Amy?" He asks him. "For good?"

Daryl shrugs his shoulders and sips his coffee. "Looks like it."

He pretends not to see Rick's small smile from the corner of his eye.

After finishing his coffee, Daryl and Louis head out again and with instructions from Paulie, and a Styrofoam container from Dale of pancakes, Daryl drives out to Merle's trailer. It's been two days since either Daryl or Paulie have seen him and even though he does this – disappear for random days without a word to anyone – Paulie is still his mom and she stills worries, not caring how old Merle is.

The trailer situated behind Joe's Bar is a worn-down, old thing, sitting at the end of the back gravel parking lot, just on the edge of the woods but, surprisingly, to everyone, Merle keeps the place clean. It's a habit he picked up from prison and having to always keep his cell tidy.

Climbing the rickety wooden steps to the door, Daryl pounds on it and then listens for any movement inside. It's quiet. Birds chirping in the trees and not much noise other than that. The bar doesn't open until three and right now, no one else is around this area. No one comes and Daryl pounds a bit harder this time.

"Yeah, yeah," he then hears Merle's familiar smoke-roughened voice from inside.

And as soon as Merle unlocks the door, Daryl pulls it open. Merle is already walking away, shuffling into the kitchenette area and Daryl steps inside, Louis following after him. The trailer's dim, the shades pulled over the windows, and smells like stale cigarette smoke and beer. It's hot inside – even with the two fans Merle's got blowing, trying to circulate the air – and that explains the drawn curtains. He's trying to keep it as cool as possible though it doesn't seem to be working.

"Brought you breakfast," Daryl says, setting the Styrofoam container of pancakes down.

Merle is wearing nothing except a pair of boxers, showing off all of his tattoos and scars. When he turns away from the sink, there's an unlit cigarette hanging from his bottom lip and he grins. He takes the container and then goes to sink himself down into the couch.

"Thanks, lil' brother," he says and when he flips open the top, his grin widens at the stack of fluffy golden pancakes inside.

There's a little container of maple syrup, too, and Merle tosses the cigarette onto the coffee table in front of him before picking up the top pancake. Ignoring the syrup for the moment, he takes a big bite.

Daryl eases himself down into the old recliner across from him. "You look like shit," he says.

Merle smirks. "Feel like it, too. Thankfully, Buddy's been lettin' me take a few sick days."

"A few?" Daryl frowns at him. "Why ain't you talkin' to ma or goin' to the doctor?"

Merle just shrugs and takes another bite of pancake. "Jus' been sleepin'. Or tryin' to. And I ain't goin' to a doctor. Who the hell has the money for that? You know I never bought myself insurance."

Daryl sighs and is quiet for a moment, thinking it through. Paulie won't be able to do anything except worry and shove chicken noodle soup and tea down Merle's throat. And while that works for most things, Merle looks like he might need a little something more. He just doesn't look good. He looks tired and he's moving slow and Daryl rarely thinks this of his older brother but right now, Merle just looks _old_.

"You want to go see the Doc?" Daryl asks after a moment.

"What the hell I just say?" Merle frowns.

"Not the doctor. Beth," Daryl clarifies.

"It look like I got four legs or a tail?" Merle quips, but Daryl can tell that he's giving the suggestion some thought.

Daryl stands up. "Just get dressed."

Merle remains sitting for a moment and then he pulls himself back to his feet and Daryl can see that he does it with some difficulty. He doesn't even think about helping him up though. Merle won't care if he needs it. Merle will just smack him if Daryl even _thinks_ of helping. Sometimes, Merle reminds him of their old man more than Daryl wants.

…

"I got the cancer, don't I, Doc?" Merle asks her as Beth wipes at his arm where she has just pulled the needle and then covers it with a Band-Aid.

"Shut up, Merle," Daryl gives him a fierce frown.

Merle keeps talking though as if Daryl hasn't said a word. "'ve been smokin' like a chimney since I was twelve. Wouldn' be surprised if that's what gets me in the end."

Beth gives him a gentle smile. "Let's not jump to conclusions," she tells both Dixon brothers. She takes the needle of Merle's blood away to the counter to fill a vile. "I'm going to have this run through all of the tests and I'll be able to let you know by Monday."

"It can't be sooner than that?" Daryl asks her softly.

"I don't want to rush through it. We want to make sure we're thorough," she answers with a shake of her head and that same gentle smile and as she walks past Daryl to return to Merle, she gives his arm a gentle squeeze.

Daryl exhales a breath and then leans back against the steel table that Merle is sitting on, his arms crossed over his chest. Beth has started a chart for Merle and she has sat down on her wheeled stool in front of him.

"What are the main staples of your diet, Merle? Be honest," she tells him.

"Burgers, mostly. Pancakes, too, and eggs. My ma's cakes. Eat a lot of Chef Boyardee. Cigarettes, beer, some weed. Clean from the harder stuff for a couple years now."

"No fruits or veggies? At all?" Beth's smile has slipped into a frown.

Merle shrugs. "Do the veggies on the burgers count?"

Beth's expression lets both men know that no, they don't count. "No wonder you're moving and feeling like a slug right now. I might have a feeling as to what's wrong, but I'll want to wait for the test results. I might be completely off base."

Beth writes down a few notes in Merle's chart. On the other side of the closed door, they can hear two dogs in the waiting room barking at one another. Louis, laying down on the floor next to Beth's stool, lifts his head curiously at the noise.

"I'm dyin', ain't I?" Merle guesses.

"No," Beth answers emphatically. She slaps the chart shut and then stands up. Merle takes the cue and slides down from the table and Daryl straightens himself. "Though with the way you're taking care of yourself, it's a miracle you're not."

Merle grins at that. "Thanks, Doc." He smacks a loud, affectionate kiss on her head and then walks out of the room. Normally, he would have strutted but he just doesn't have the energy to do that at the present moment.

"Here." Daryl reaches into his pocket, pulling out his wallet.

"Don't even think about it," Beth frowns at him.

"You did us a huge favor, lettin' him come see you." He tosses five twenties onto her desk and he then looks at her. "Don't tell our ma, alright? Not until we know what's wrong."

"Aren't you two a little too old to be hiding things from your mom?" Beth asks.

Daryl doesn't bother to respond to that because she already knows the answer. They'll never be too old to hide things from Paulie. They usually wind up always telling her anyway. Just in their own good time and right now, until Merle's blood results come back and Beth can diagnose him, there's no good reason they should make her worry and panic.

Daryl steps to her and his hands go to her cheeks. He gently tilts her head up and kisses her softly on the lips. "Can't thank you enough for this," he tells her in a low voice.

Beth looks up at him, his hands still on her cheeks, Merle's chart hugged to her chest.

"Did you honestly think I would turn you both away?" She asks him softly.

Again, Daryl doesn't answer because, deep down, Beth probably knows that answer, too.

They haven't had a talk, yet, about what they are, but to Daryl, kissing her and taking her out for dinner, it's pretty damn obvious. She's his girl. And honestly, no, he's not used to having a girl who would do something like this for him.

He doesn't tell her that though. Instead, he just lowers his head and kisses her again.

"See you tonight," she whispers, her eyes still closed, her face tilted up towards him, and Daryl can't stop himself from kissing her one more time.

…

The blanket is spread out on their usual spot in the grass by the fountain in the Commons and as she always does, Beth has brought a picnic basket filled with food and Rosita has brought a bottle of cheap red wine and glasses.

It's dusk and they have a bit of time before the movie starts – not usually beginning until the sky is completely dark. As it usually is for movies in the park during the summer, the Commons is crowded that evening with other picnicking people before a viewing of _Jaws_.

"What do we have tonight?" Spencer asks after taking a swig of wine from his glass.

"Terrible?" Rosita asks, witnessing his expression after he swallows it down. "It was a bottom shelf, five dollar special."

"Oh, you can tell," he answers her, but he does so with a grin. "When we get married, I'm forcing my parents into footing the liquor bill."

"In order for us to get married, you have to ask first," Rosita points out to him.

Spencer just takes another swig of wine.

Rosita's 28th birthday is in two weeks.

"I made a fresh fruit salad and I have carrot and celery sticks as well as radishes with ranch dressing for dipping," Beth says, pulling the containers out from the basket. "And I have chicken salad and fresh croissants to make sandwiches." She plucks a radish from the tray and extends it to Daryl. "Here, Daryl. Fresh veggies are loaded with so many nutrients."

Daryl smirks a little as he takes the offering. "I get plenty of fresh vegetables."

"You can always use more," Beth replies and he smiles at that. When he takes a loud bite of the radish, it crunching in his mouth, she smiles, too.

Finally, from the depths of the basket, she produces a fresh rawhide bone for Louis and the dog happily takes it and lays down to chew on his own feast.

And the others eat and talk. Mostly Beth, Spencer and Rosita talks. Daryl just sits and eats and listens to what they're talking about. He likes listening to them – even if Spencer mostly just bitches about work. Stories of City Hall are always entertaining. Daryl had no idea that even in a little town like theirs, the game of politics still has to be played. It seems like not much can get done until favors are promised or done. Even getting the gazebo rebuilt, apparently the planning committee had to do a favor for the historical society even though the planning committee technically owned the gazebo since the town owned the gazebo. But apparently, keeping the old people of the historical society happy is always priority.

Just listening to it honestly gives Daryl a headache and he doesn't know how Spencer does it every day.

They finish the croissants and chicken salad, but as the movie screen is lit up and everyone settles in for the movie to begin, they keep munching on the vegetables and ranch dressing. Pillows have been brought as always and Spencer and Rosita take one end of the blanket and Daryl and Beth take the other. Daryl arranges and adjusts his pillows and when he reclines himself back next to Beth, she is watching him with a smile.

"Wha'?" He wonders.

Beth just shakes her head and keeps smiling. "I think you might like movies in the park."

He shrugs at that and looks to the screen as the opening scene – the bonfire on the beach – starts and the camera focuses on the girl who will wind up being the shark's first victim. He hasn't seen this movie in years but it's all coming back to him now.

"Worse ways to spend an evenin'," he concedes and then smiles when Beth pokes him in the side. Before she can pull her hand back, Daryl snatches it up and holds onto it.

Beth smiles and takes his silent signal, scooting herself closer to him until she can rest her head on his shoulder. Daryl's never been a fan of displays of affection out in the open like this but with the park dark and everyone watching the movie, he doesn't feel uncomfortable. Instead, he lifts his arm around Beth's shoulder, holding her close, smiling a little when she snuggles in closer to him as if cold despite the heavy humidity hanging in the air.

And when the girl has gone swimming naked in the ocean and is suddenly and viciously jerked in the water by an unseen force, Beth somehow manages to get even closer and she turns her head, burying her face in his shirt. And Daryl tightens his arm around her shoulders and holds onto her, silently letting her know that he doesn't plan on letting go.

…

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 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to leave a review!**


	20. Fly

**Beth and Daryl are moving somewhat quickly (at least compared to what I usually write them) and that's actually going to come back and bite them.**

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…

 **Chapter Twenty.** Fly.

Beth shifts the brown paper grocery bag into the crook of her arm as she lifts her fist to the door. But before she can even knock, it swings open and Paulie is standing there.

"Hi, Paulie," Beth smiles at her and she has no idea why she's nervous. She adores Paulie. Absolutely adores her. And she knows Paulie likes her, too – at least she had before Beth started dating her son. Maybe after Amy, Paulie is now weary of any woman in Daryl's life.

But Paulie bursts into a smile when she sees her. "I thought I heard your truck," Paulie says as she ushers Beth into the house and closes the door behind her. "No Daryl this time?"

Beth shakes her head as Paulie herds her into the kitchen. She loves Paulie's house. Some people might call it tiny, but Beth would disagree and say that it's cozy. She may live in a huge house herself, but Beth has never understood why people need so much space.

"Rick called and was setting up a last-minute poker game for tonight," Beth explains.

She has set the paper bag down on the kitchen table and Paulie begins rifling through it. Beth blushes when Paulie pulls out the pre-made pie crusts and she raises an eyebrow at the sight of them before turning the look onto Beth.

"I'm not even going to pretend that I'm _not_ offended by these," Paulie says and with that, she goes and practically tosses them into the refrigerator. "We're makin' our pie crusts from scratch," she informs Beth as she practically pushes a rolling pin into her hands.

And Beth is surprised that making a pie crust from scratch isn't that difficult. You just have to make sure it's not too thin or too thick and when placed into the pie pan, you have to make sure there are no bumps or bubbles in the dough. It's like art and when she tells Paulie that, the older woman lets out a bark of laughter.

"Been makin' pie dough in my family for generations. Don't think anyone's considered it to be anythin' than makin' the family somethin' for eatin'," she comments and Beth smiles.

Paulie sets the pie crusts aside and then, they begin on the filling, which is definitely much harder in Beth's opinion, but like with the coconut cake, Beth listens to Paulie's instructions and reads the note-card with her recipe written and she does her best.

"So, you and Daryl happy?" Paulie asks rather unexpectedly and Beth nearly cuts her thumb with the knife she's using to cut the pecans.

Her eyes fly to look at her and Paulie is looking at her with a smile. Beth almost asks how Paulie knows about her and Daryl but she stops herself before she can. It's a small town. Smaller than small. _Of course_ Paulie knows that she and Daryl went out. It would have been more shocking if she hasn't heard from someone yet.

Beth visibly swallows and she nods her head once, going back to cutting. "I'm really happy," she answers quietly as if it's something she shouldn't be shouting from the mountain tops.

It hasn't been a good year for her. Or really, _years_ , and that's putting it mildly. First mom and then daddy and Shawn and Maggie both leaving her all alone… No. Being happy is definitely a very big deal. But she knows that Daryl isn't the sort to announce anything to anyone. He is private and Beth respects that so she supposes that she's keeping herself reigned in as well about the whole thing going on between them - whatever that thing is.

"I can tell," Paulie smiles at her and Beth feels her cheeks warm.

Beth nearly asks Paulie if she can tell if Daryl's happy or not, but she's able to stop herself before the question can leave her mouth. Deep down, a part of her doesn't want to know. Deep down, a part of her is terrified that she's just the rebound; that she's giving this man her heart, feeling whooshes and falling for him, and to him, she's just the girl to help him get over the first girl. She knows that Daryl likes her. That's obvious. But she has no idea if his feelings for her match her feelings for him. He seems to be over Amy, but is he really?

Once the pies are filled and are baking in the oven, Paulie asks if she'd like to see her greenhouse and Beth eagerly accepts the invitation. She knows that Daryl had built it for his mom and Paulie's love for it is obvious, opening the door and stepping inside, Beth following behind. In the summer sun, the greenhouse's air is so thick with heat and humidity, Beth nearly has trouble breathing, but she's able to quickly get used to it and look at the things Paulie is growing. Different flowers and herbs – some of which Beth can't identify. No one in her family had ever been into natural medicines. Her daddy had known about plants and which ones could be helpful – or harmful – but Hershel had kept the knowledge to himself and hadn't passed it down to any of his three children.

Maybe he had thought that he would have more time for that, too.

"And Daryl built this for you?" Beth asks, looking at the small seemingly simple wooden structure with the wooden-planked floor and the windows on all sides and the roof.

Paulie smiles, rubbing her hand affectionately along one of the wooden tables. "He did. When he was a lil' one, the church had a garage sale every year in their basement where the congregates would donate things from their homes that they didn' need anymore. I was able to get quite a few things for just a few dollars for myself and the boys – even though I'm pretty sure Dolly Crawford, one of the church women who organized it, gave me discounts on things though she'd never admit to doin' such a thing."

Beth listens intently to Paulie's story. She sees the scar over Paulie's eyebrow and the way she walks with a limp, and it's a secret to no one of hers and Merle's and Daryl's past life, but still, it's so hard to believe that this strong and kind woman was ever a beaten housewife. She wonders what Daryl remembers of his youth; if he even wants to remember anything from it. Beth knows she'll probably never be brave enough to ask him about it.

Besides, it's not really any of her business unless Daryl wants to make it.

"Daryl came with me every single year. He prob'ly won't admit such a thing now, but when he was lil', he didn't like lettin' me out of his sight too much. He walked around, actin' like my protector," Paulie says with a faint smile and Beth smiles at that, too. "This year we went to the garage sale, he was about five, I figure, and I was able to get us some clothes and a new pot for cookin' and I turn around and Daryl's not there anymore. I find him by the table of toys and he's got his eyes set on a Lego set. It was supposed to be a pirate ship but pickin' up the box, I knew all of the Legos weren't in there anymore but Daryl didn' care. It was a dollar, but Dolly told me that it was on sale for a quarter and I knew it was bull and us Dixons don' like takin' charity from anyone, but I wanted to get it for Daryl."

Beth smiles faintly as she imagines a tyke-sized Daryl clutching a Lego box to his chest.

"And after that, if I couldn' find 'im, I'd go to his closet and sure enough, he'd be in there, playin' with his Legos. I made sure he only played with the Legos in the closet so his dad couldn' step on any."

Beth can just imagine how that would have gone if Will Dixon pierced his foot on a Lego.

"He built the pirate shop and then after that, he was always buildin' somethin' else," Paulie continues. "It's as if now that he started, he wasn' able to stop himself. And I loved watchin' him build whatever was up in his mind. That boy had an imagination that I couldn' imagine any other Dixon havin'. Merle picked up on his brother interest and he'd come home sometimes, his pockets burstin' with more loose Legos to add to Daryl's collection."

Beth thinks back on what Daryl had confessed during their date at Rio Rancho.

 _Sometimes, I think Merle might hate me a lil'._

Beth had thought he was crazy then and she thinks he's crazy now. Just hearing this one story, she stands by her previous statement. Merle adores his little brother. And she thinks of the way Daryl had dragged Merle into her office for her to check him out. It's pretty obvious to anyone that the Dixon brothers do anything for one another.

"This was the first thing he built that wasn' made of plastic," Paulie smiles, rubbing her hand along the table once more, looking up at the glass ceiling with a brightness in her eyes. She then looks back to Beth. "I had Merle when I was so young, I was still a child myself and Merle and I grew up together. I know I prob'ly didn' do the best with him."

Beth immediately opens her mouth to tell her otherwise, but Paulie shakes her head, stopping Beth before she can; knowing that's what she's going to do.

"And I love my boys more than anythin' in this world, but Merle and Daryl have always been different. Even if I was able to give them exact same life, they would be different. Daryl's always been the sweet one. And he's always been the best thing I've ever done."

Paulie takes a step towards her then. Beth's hand is resting on the table and Paulie moves her hand, covering it, and she stares into Beth's eyes, making her eyes stay locked with hers. Beth is back to feeling nervous like she had felt when she first arrived.

"I like you so much, Doc, but, and I mean this as nice as possible, if you break that boy's heart, you're gonna have me to deal with."

Beth has no idea what to say to that. She knows Paulie. She likes Paulie. And she knows that Paulie isn't exactly threatening her and yet, that is exactly what the small woman in front of her is doing. Beth wonders if she had said the exact same thing to Amy when she and Daryl began dating two years earlier.

Beth visibly swallows and she nods her head and Paulie smiles, patting her hand.

"Good girl. Now le's go check on those pies."

Paulie leaves the greenhouse, heading back towards the house, but Beth stays behind, taking a moment to collect. Well, she and Daryl must be serious if his mom is giving her thinly-veiled threats. Are they serious? That certainly is a conversation they haven't had.

She finally is able to leave the greenhouse, closing the door behind her, and as she heads back towards the house, following Paulie's path, Beth wishes she had been able to say something to Paulie in response.

Paulie better have a talk with Daryl and make sure he doesn't break Beth's heart either.

…

Parking the truck in her usual spot behind the house, Beth takes the cool pecan pie from the seat next to her and heads inside. She had seen Daryl's truck parked outside in front and there are a couple of lights turned on so she knows he's returned from poker night and when she comes in through the back door into the kitchen, Louis is running in a moment later, barking happily and wagging his tail as fast as a whip.

Beth smiles at Louis' enthusiasm as she always does and she goes to the counter to set the pie down. "Where's your daddy, huh?" She asks the dog, rubbing him behind his ears.

And after making sure the door is closed and locked behind her, she leaves the kitchen and pokes her head into the living room. He's not there – not that she was expecting him to be. He would have gotten up to greet her if he was. So she turns and heads up the stairs, not hearing anything that would alert her as to where he is.

She nearly leaps when the bathroom door suddenly opens, releasing light and pent up steam, and there's Daryl, a towel wrapped around his waist, his hair and body still wet.

Beth immediately feels her throat go dry at the sight of him and she stands there, knowing that she's staring at him, looking like an idiot, but she can't seem to help herself.

He's not chiseled from stone – and that's a little surprising to her because she's seen his arms, but no. He's got a little tummy on him; not a six pack. And Beth is trying to think of the last time she has seen _anything_ sexier than Daryl standing in front of her right now without a shirt on, water droplets chasing one another down his body. He's a man. An actual man. And Beth is feeling nothing except whooshes wreaking havoc on her stomach.

Daryl looks initially embarrassed to have her seeing him like this, but then, he sees her face – and Beth wonders what she looks like right now (she can only imagine the lust evident in her eyes) – because Daryl's demeanor changes then, too. He doesn't relax. If anything, he seems to stiffen anymore, but Beth can tell that this is a different sort of tenseness.

And then, just like their first kiss, Daryl launches himself at her in the same way he had then, his hands framing her cheeks and his mouth hungrily kissing hers. And Beth is more than eager to return those kisses with kisses of her own. Her fingers dive into his wet hair, holding it back from their faces as she stands on her toes and presses herself against him. And she nearly whimpers because he's wearing nothing but a towel and it obviously does nothing to hide how excited he is right now. She can't help but feel relieved that he seems to want her as much as she wants him.

It's all happening so fast – they are flying through so many steps that Beth usually takes with a man to get to this point – but she doesn't even consider stopping them right now. Daryl is making her feel like she's floating and the last thing she wants is to come crashing back down. In the back of her mind, she wonders how soon it was after their first date that he and Amy slept together, but Beth is quick to slap that thought away. Right now, Daryl and Amy is the absolute last thing that she wants to think about.

Right now, it's just Daryl and Beth. Beth and Daryl. And nothing and no one else.

They practically fall into her bedroom and she laughs against his lips as Daryl shuts the door behind them.

"Don't wan' Louis watchin'," he exclaims and Beth laughs again.

Feeling bold, she is the one to push him towards the bed and he falls backwards onto the mattress, the towel loosening from around his waist, almost falling off. He immediately reaches for Beth, but she shakes her head, going to the foot of the bed where he can't get her. And then, with a braveness she didn't even know she has, Beth begins peeling her clothes off. His eyes never leave her, staring, growing darker, with each piece of clothing that falls from her body onto the floor. She has never done anything like this before, but the way Daryl is staring at her, he's making her feel brave and beautiful and her stomach is in a state of constant flutters and whooshes.

When she's completely naked, Daryl sits up, but she still doesn't come back to the bed. Instead, she crosses the room to her desk. The air-conditioner kicks on and feeling the cold air across her naked skin, she feels sexy and confident and turning back towards Daryl, she smiles at him and holds up a foil packet that she has taken from the top drawer.

Daryl lifts an eyebrow at that. "Are there secret stashes like that all over the house?"

Beth laughs and she finally returns to the bed, climbing up on the foot, sitting up on her knees, looking down at him as he's lying there, propped up on his elbows, looking up at her as if he's never seen anything more beautiful than her.

 _Whoosh_.

"Maggie gave a box to me before she moved to Michigan," Beth admits and as if she wasn't completely naked, she blushes as if embarrassed at admitting of being in possession of a box of condoms. "She thought I needed to have some fun."

Daryl stares up at her, completely serious. "And are you havin' fun?"

Beth smiles faintly and slowly, she drops to her hands and crawls towards him, putting herself over him. Her lips lightly brush across his. "I bet we're about to have a lot more."

And he smiles at that, actually grinning when Beth lets out a surprised shriek as he grabs her and flips her over quickly, setting her on her back. She feels that the towel is gone and she's instantly drenched between her thighs. She pulls him down for another kiss, her thighs spreading to hold him between them, and their naked bodies press tightly together.

Beth thinks of little Daryl with his Legos and Daryl and the way he cares about Louis and his brother and mom and the way he would come over here and help her whenever she needed it. She thinks of how he's a good man who cares for her and gives her whooshes.

It's never a good time to think things like that – especially between two people who are still getting to know one another – but Beth can't help it. Daryl is buried inside of her, thick and deep, and she is moaning softly with each movement of his hips, bringing himself in and out, the movements rocking their bodies together. And all she can think of is how she loves him. She honestly loves him. When had it happen? She has no idea, but it has happened.

She has gone from having a crush to liking him to falling completely in love with him.

Almost as if he can read her thoughts right then, Daryl lifts his head from where he had been grunting into the side of her throat and he looks down at her; almost as if he can't quite believe that this is happening and she's beneath him like this. His hips never stop their thrusts and her hips don't stop, lifting to meet his, but everything else seems to go completely still around them. It's just them. They are the only two people left in this world.

"I love you, Daryl," Beth hears herself say to him breathlessly, panting.

Instantly, she wishes she could take it back. She should not have said that. Not now. Not when they're in the middle of having sex. And even if they weren't having sex right now, it is way too soon to be saying that out loud. She shouldn't even be thinking it yet. It's all moving so fast. She can't be in love with him yet.

But she is. She knows she is. She just should have kept it deep down inside and never said it out loud until she knew that he would be ready to hear it.

Daryl is staring at her and his thrusts have slowed down and Beth is honestly excepting him to just crawl off of her and leave without meeting her eye again. Telling someone that you love them should be easy. It should make you feel lighter afterwards and like everything in the world is perfect. But Beth doesn't feel that at all. Honestly, she feels a little sick and she wishes he would say _anything_ right now to her statement.

But then, when Daryl does speak, Beth wishes he hadn't said anything at all.

"Thanks," Daryl says in a quiet voice and then he looks away and begins thrusting again, but Beth can hardly even feel him now.

 _Thanks_. As if she has just given him a cup of coffee or an extra piece of toast in the morning. _Thanks_ as if what she had just confessed to him means very little to him. And that is the truth, isn't it? It has to be. Before her, there was another blonde woman in his life who told Daryl that she loved him and it's pretty damn obvious that that's the only woman Daryl wants to say those words to him.

Beth thinks she really might be sick. Why can't she just be a girl who has sex with a guy and has fun and not get emotionally attached? Why can't she be a fun girl like Maggie or Rosita? Why does she always have to ruin things? Couldn't she just have had sex with Daryl without whooshes in the stomach or her heart pitter-pattering in her chest or falling in love with him? What the hell kind of woman falls in love with a guy during sex?

 _Thanks_.

Is there a worse word in the English language than that?

…

* * *

 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review! I already can't wait to write Daryl's POV in the next chapter.**


	21. Take Me On

**I hope this chapter is better than the last and thank you so much to those reading and reviewing.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Twenty-One.** Take Me On.

He's able to thrust a couple more times, but then he has to stop himself. He can't do this and Beth isn't into it anymore, either. He can feel her. She's a million miles away right now. And who the hell can blame her? Thanks? Really? That's what he says to her when she says those words to him? She surprised the hell out him, that's for sure. It's only been almost three months since Amy and just a couple weeks with Beth. Technically, they just went out on their first date two nights earlier. He's just not ready for those words yet.

Daryl slowly slips out of her and then rolls from her, sitting up, his legs over the edge of the bed. "'m sorry," he says then in a quiet voice.

"No," Beth's reply is instant; quiet, too. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I don't know what I was thinking."

Daryl keeps quiet. She was thinking that in that moment, she loved him and he ruined it by saying thanks. Thanks like she had just done a favor to him by folding his laundry; as if it's not some huge fucking deal that she just told him that she loved him. He still doesn't know what to say to that. He shouldn't have said anything. Silence would have been better than thanks. Just repeating that word in his head, he nearly cringes.

He stands up from the bed and goes into the bathroom, getting rid of the condom. Louis is in the hallway, practically dancing for the bedroom door to be open again, and when Daryl leaves the bathroom, the dog has already gone into Beth's bedroom, jumping onto the bed and making her laugh softly. Daryl nearly exhales a sigh of relief upon hearing her laugh. Things can't be all that bad if she's laughing, right?

Thanks.

No. Things can still be pretty bad whether Beth's laughing or not.

He goes back into the bedroom and pauses, not entirely sure what to do. Louis is with Beth, licking her face, and she is laughing as she rubs the dog behind his ears. Daryl's not sure if he should get back into the bed. Does Beth want him in her bed? It'd be even shittier of him if he goes to his bedroom and not spend the night with her. He may have responded piss-poor to her love statement, but this is still Beth and he likes her. He _really_ likes her.

"Can we do something?" Beth speaks suddenly, breaking him from his thoughts. He looks at her and waits for her to continue. "Can we just pretend that I never said anything? I don't want things to be weird between us and right now, it's really weird and that's the last thing I want."

Daryl stares at her for a second. Can he pretend that? She had said that she loved him. Those words are a big deal no matter when they're said and he knows Beth. She meant it. She's not the sort of girl who would say those words if she didn't mean them. She loves him and now, because of him, she is just willing to push that all aside and ignore it.

No, he doesn't want to ignore it. How can he? The words are hanging over his head right now. _I love you, Daryl_. Just because he's not ready to hear them doesn't mean he didn't hear them at all when she said that. Now, it's practically the only thing he can hear.

"Sure," he manages to say.

Beth manages to give him a smile, but it's small and a little tight and he wonders if he just further screwed everything up by agreeing to forget it. He has no idea what the hell he's doing and he hates feeling completely clueless because he's aware that he's probably letting Beth down in some form or another. He just has no idea how to do any of this.

She laughs then, soft and not at all sounding amused, and his eyes fly to look back at her.

"You make me feel like such a pathetic girl, Daryl Dixon," she says with a shake of her head.

Daryl frowns at that, but he stays quiet because what the hell can he say to that?

"I'm a doctor," Beth continues. "I've been to veterinary school and learning to become a vet is _not_ easy. I'm smart and I'm strong."

"I know that," Daryl is finally able to say that.

"And it's not your fault, but I feel like such a pathetic girl when I'm around you. Does he like me? Does he not like me? Am I his girlfriend? I don't want to go back to high school, Daryl."

Daryl's back to frowning. "I didn' tell you to say that to me," he reminds her; as if this is something he has to remind her about.

Beth looks at him. She's sitting up in bed, still naked, but she has pulled the sheet to her chest so she's hiding herself from his view. Damn, she's beautiful. So fucking beautiful. He can hardly believe that she's actually real. Girls who are beautiful like her really only exist in magazines and on the television. They aren't here, having sex with him and in love with him. And maybe that's another thing. Maybe he just doesn't believe that he deserves her.

"And I want to forget that I did say that to you," she reminds him.

"So does that mean you don't?" Daryl can't help but ask.

"Daryl!" She exclaims then, her frustration bubbling over. "Make up your mind! What do you want? I know it was way too soon to say that to you and I shouldn't have said it, so either we forget it and pretend it never happened or we address it and let things be awkward. I don't know what else to do."

"You ain't makin' any sense to me," he admits. "I make you feel like a pathetic girl and then you're yellin' at me 'cause I'm not reactin' to it the way you wan' me to. You're makin' my head spin jus' like-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," Beth cuts him off and he's grateful that she did because what he was about to say, that would just make things a thousand times worse and he knows that, but he hadn't been able to stop himself from saying it anyway.

There's a loud knock on the front door downstairs and Louis lets out a bark, leaping down from the bed and taking off out of the room and down the stairs. Beth, herself, flies from the bed as well and begins quickly dressing herself. Daryl follows her lead and goes into his room to throw clothes on himself. Honestly, he's a little relieved for the interruption. He's never been good at this – talking about feelings and all of that other sort of stuff. He needs to work on it – he knows that. He's too damn old and he knows that talking about feelings is part of being in relationship and it sounds like Beth doesn't even know they're in a relationship. Of course, that is something he hasn't told her he wants so why would she know? It's amazing how much he can fuck up by not saying anything.

He comes down the stairs to see that the front door is wide open and he follows the light and sounds of voices into Beth's exam room. It's Shane and his uniform shirt is stained with blood. And on the table, bleeding from his side, is a pit bull dog, quiet and still, but Louis is standing at the table, whining.

"Wha' the hell happened?" Daryl asks as he goes to grab hold of Louis' collar, ready to get the dog out of the way, as Beth listens to the dog's heart.

Shane exhales a shaky breath. "We had a raid on the meth heads in the woods, which we've done plenty of times 'fore, but this time, idiots decided to open fire on us. Everyone's fine. Rick's still there with the other officers, takin' reports and makin' arrests. This dog was the only one hurt. Idiots shot their own dog. I volunteered to bring 'im here to Beth."

Daryl's quiet, taking that all in, and then looks to Beth. "Is he gonna be a'right?" He asks her.

Beth doesn't answer right away. She's now inspecting the small hole in the dog's side and when she touches the surrounding area, the dog lets out a small whine and shifts his body.

"Shhhh, baby. You're okay," Beth whispers to the dog and then lifts her head to look at the two men standing there. "Thank you for bringing him, Shane. I got it from here."

"You need help?" Shane offers.

"You have done more than enough," Beth shakes her head as she begins pushing the men towards the door without actually physically pushing them. And when Daryl, Shane and Louis are clear of the door, she closes it behind them.

Shane exhales a deep breath.

"Wan' somethin' to drink?" Daryl asks.

"I should prob'ly head back. Help Rick with cleanin' it up out there." Shane looks to the closed door behind them. "You think I'd be able to keep the dog if he pulls through?"

"I doubt he's goin' back to his first owners," Daryl says and Shane nods, still looking to the door as if he has the ability to see through the door and watch Beth get the bullet out.

"Sorry to wake you both up," Shane then says, looking back to him.

"We weren't sleepin'," Daryl answers without thinking and then he almost winces.

That is not something that should ever be said around Shane. The guy's as much of a horn-dog as Merle is and the topic of sex should never be brought up when either one of them is even in the vicinity. And now, as expected, Shane grins.

Daryl exhales a sigh and shakes his head. "Ain't that," he says and steps away, going to close the front door. "We were jus' talkin'." At least, that's what he thinks they were doing. He admits that he's still a little confused. Beth tells him she loves him and then wants to forget about it and act like nothing happened and she feels pathetic and how can he _not_ think about her telling him that?

Shane nods. "That's good, man."

Daryl can't help but be surprised and he looks at him. "It is?"

Shane smiles a little. "Yeah. Not that I know from experience, but I've heard that talkin' in a relationship is a good thing. You and Amy ever talked with each other?"

"She talked. I listened," Daryl shrugs.

"So, see? You talkin' with Beth is a good thing," Shane says.

"Yeah…" Daryl comments and then turns away so Shane doesn't say anything else about it.

He knows that talking is a good thing. Ever since he was a little kid, people would say that to him even though everyone in town knew Will Dixon so Daryl being so quiet was completely understandable to all of them. And it's just something that has carried over into his adulthood even with his old man being dad for so many years now. He's just never seen the point of talking; some people talk too damn much, in his opinion.

But with Beth, he knows he needs to talk – just like he had to talk with Amy – but there's a big difference between Beth and Amy despite what he implied upstairs.

Beth actually makes him want to talk. He just needs to break the life-long habit and do it.

Shane leaves to return to the scene and Daryl promises that he will call him as soon as Beth's done with the dog's surgery. He looks to the clock. It's just a little before eleven and he knows he should go to bed because from the looks of it, Beth will be in there a while, but he feels wrong and strange just going to bed when Beth is in that room, saving a dog's life.

So, he goes into the kitchen, gets a glass of water and then returns to the sitting room where he settles himself down. Louis lays down at his feet, lowering his head on his paws and watching the closed door. There are magazines on the table next to the couch and Daryl looks at them. It is no surprise that they are all magazines about animals. He picks up one and begins reading about the depleting shark populations and how that pretty much is going to fuck up the oceans if there are no more sharks.

Daryl gets completely immersed in the article – the whole magazine really – and he doesn't keep track of the time. When the door opens, his head flies up and Beth stands there, seeing him, surprised to see him there. He slaps the magazine shut and stands up.

"Read anything good?" She asks, her lips twitching in a smile like his sometimes do.

"There are around five to ten shark related deaths each year involvin' people, but over 100 million sharks are murdered each year," he rattles off. "How's the dog?" He asked.

"Good," she nods, wiping her arm across her forehead. "Well, as good as he can be considering I just pulled a bullet from his side, but he's tough. He'll pull through."

Daryl is almost surprised at how relieved he is to hear that. It's not the dog's fault his owner and the entire family are trailer trash meth heads. No one asks to be a part of something like that and he'd hate to be the one to tell Shane that the dog didn't make it.

He looks at Beth for a moment. She is turning her head slowly, working a crick out of her neck, and she looks exhausted. He doesn't hesitate. He goes to her and standing behind her, he starts to rub her neck and shoulders. Beth drops her hand and she lets out a low moan as she closes her eyes and turns herself over to him.

"That feels amazing," she moans out.

Daryl keeps rubbing. "'bout earlier, 'm real sorry, Beth. I don't wanna forget you said it though."

Beth is quiet for a moment. "Okay," she then says in a quiet voice. "I am sorry I said it though. I shouldn't have. It's way too soon. Since Amy… since we started this thing…"

"Relationship," he finishes for her. "We're in a relationship."

She's quiet for another passing moment. "Relationship," she then echoes quietly and he can't see her but he can hear her smile.

"And I jus' need time," he says, his hands stilling. "That's what I really need, Beth."

Beth turns her head so she can look at him and she gives him a small smile. And she doesn't have to say anything because that smile, for Daryl, is more than enough.

…

"How's it going up there?"

Daryl comes to the edge of the gazebo roof and looking down, he sees it's Spencer. "Took us mos' of the mornin' to clear out all of the birds livin' in the rafters," he answers. "Now, we're finally startin' on tearin' the roof off."

"Looks good," Spencer offers.

"Looks like shit," Daryl counters and Spencer grins. "You need somethin'?"

"Do you have a second?"

"Yeah." Daryl pulls himself back and looks to T-Dog, who is pulling shingles off and dropping them off the edge onto the grass below. "I'm takin' a minute," he tells him.

"Toss my water bottle up here," T-Dog requests as Daryl climbs down the ladder.

Spencer is standing near the cooler and Daryl goes there first, flipping the lid and taking out one of the bottles of water. Louis is instantly at his side, his tail wagging eagerly. The dog hates when he and T-Dog are working on roofs because that means he can't be near them.

"T!" Daryl calls up to him and a moment later, T-Dog is at the edge of the roof and Daryl tosses him up the plastic bottle. T-Dog catches it with a grin and takes a greedy chug.

Nearing the end of August, the summer is still brutal, but this week, there's actually been a bit of reprieve in the heat and the whole town seems to be taking advantage. The Commons that day is crowded as people enjoy the weather. He and T-Dog had set up a safety ring around them with yellow tape so people know not to get too close as they work on the roof.

"Wha's goin' on?" Daryl asks, looking to Spencer.

As always, Spencer is dressed in pants and a button-down shirt with a tie, the shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows. There's a paper cup from the diner in his hand filled with coffee.

"You're coming to Rosita's birthday party, right?" Spencer asks.

"Yeah. Didn' think I had the option of not goin'," Daryl then adds.

Spencer just smiles. "As Beth's boyfriend, you're right. You have no option."

And Daryl's own lips twitch at that. Beth's boyfriend. He really likes the sound of that. It sounds good and it sounds right.

"You still proposin'?" Daryl asks.

"I think so," Spencer answers. "I mean, yes. I am definitely still proposing. I just don't know if I'm going to do it at the party anymore. We were watching something on television and a guy proposed to this girl at a baseball game and Rosita said that she would hate a public proposal like that. Made me think I need to rethink this whole thing. I mean, her parents are going to be there and mine…"

"In the same room?" Daryl raises an eyebrow at that.

He's heard Beth talk about it. Even though Spencer's family is a political one and are perfectly polite to everyone – their constituents, Rosita always says with disdain – it's known that the Spencer's parents, his mom in particular, doesn't approve of his relationship with Rosita – even though they've been together for damn near ten years now. They think their son can do much better than Rosita Espinosa. Of course, her parents think that Spencer's whole family are nothing but a bunch of damn snobs and wish their daughter would be with someone a little more "Latino", in Spencer's words.

" _Opposite_ sides of the room," Spencer clarifies. "Anyway, so I was thinking that I propose to her before the party and her birthday is just a birthday with the ring already on her finger."

Daryl's quiet and after a moment, he realizes that Spencer is looking at him. "You wan' _my_ opinion?" He asks, not able to believe that. What the hell did he know about proposals? With his last relationship, his girlfriend was cheating on him and dumped his ass and his current relationship, he almost ruined the whole thing before it could even really start.

"Yeah. Beth and Rosita are a lot alike so do you think Beth would like something like that? Just something simple with no fanfare or should I stick to the public proposal?"

"Somethin' simple," Daryl answers without thinking it over because he really doesn't have to. He can actually imagine it perfectly. Beth would want something quiet; maybe something at home. Maybe they could take a picnic with them into the woods and he'd do it there. Or maybe even simpler than that and do it one night while washing dishes.

Daryl stops himself. He is really getting ahead of himself. Beth and him aren't there yet and they won't be for a very long time.

"Wha's somethin' that jus' the two of you do?" Daryl asks.

Spencer thinks that through. "We go to Joe's a lot for his Southern Rebel Music night."

"Yeah, don't propose to her at Joe's," Daryl shakes his head.

After Spencer leaves and Daryl gives Louis a pat, telling him to stay, he climbs back up the ladder to join T, once again, on the roof, pulling back on his work gloves. They continue tearing up the shingles, tossing them over the side, slowly exposing the roof's plywood beneath that will all have to be replaced.

"Damn miracle we ain't fallin' through this right now," Daryl mutters.

"For a damn historical site, you think the town would take better care of it," T-Dog adds.

"Guess they're wantin' to take care of it now," Daryl replies.

They finish around five. T-Dog has a meeting at the church, where he's on the church council and they have meetings twice a week at seven. And Daryl figures that they've been at it for almost nine hours now and they're both sweating and bit up and hungry for dinner.

They pack up their supplies and materials into the back of Daryl's truck and Daryl drives the man back at home with a promise to pick him up the next day at seven so they can do it all over again.

When he pulls up to the farmhouse and heads up the front steps, he sees a yellow post-it stuck to the outside of the screen door.

 _Went to see your brother. We really need to get you a phone. xoxo Beth_

Daryl smiles, taking the note down and folding it into his pocket. He figures that Beth probably got the results back on the blood work and went to go tell Merle the diagnosis, but Daryl doesn't feel himself panic. If it was something truly terrible, Beth would have stopped first at the gazebo to get him before going to see Merle. And Daryl has always thought the same thing about his brother. Nothing can kill Merle but Merle.

Daryl whistles to Louis to get back into the truck and once again, he drives down the dirt drive for the main road. The lot for Joe's is almost full with cars, trucks and motorcycles, music pouring out from inside every time someone opens the front door. Daryl heads down the parking lot, pulling to a stop in front of the trailer, parking next to Beth's truck. The lights are on the trailer but over the noise from the bar behind him, he can't hear anything.

But as soon as he climbs the steps and knocks, the door is swung open and Merle is standing there with a scowl on his face.

"Your ol' lady is out of her damn mind, baby brother," Merle snaps.

Daryl tries not to smile as he steps inside, Louis rushing inside past him once he sees Beth in the kitchenette area, brown paper grocery bags on the counter, and she's unpacking.

"Hi," Beth smiles when she sees him.

"Hey." He drops a kiss to the side of her head without thinking about it. "Wha's all of this?"

"Your brother has a _severe_ vitamin deficiency," Beth informs him while giving Merle a look.

"You say severe. I say somethin' I've been livin' with," Merle frowns at her.

" _Barely_ living with. Anemia is not a joke, Merle, and you _will_ take these supplements I got for you," she orders before going back to unpacking the groceries she has brought.

Daryl looks. There are several vitamin bottles lined up on the counter and fresh fruit. Banana, apples and pears. She's even bought him a bowl to keep it all in. And peeking over her shoulder, Daryl sees that Beth has loaded Merle's refrigerator with food including a gallon of milk, cartons of orange juice and V-8, and bags of carrot sticks.

"I can't stay here and watch her defile my home," Merle grumbles. "I'm goin' to Joe's."

"I've already called him and told him that you're only allowed orange juice and _just_ orange juice with nothing mixed in," Beth informs him. "Doctor's orders."

"You're a vet," Merle tries to grasp onto something.

"A vet who saved your ass," Beth quips back before turning away to continue unloading the bags, this time pulling out a plastic container of garden greens.

Daryl has to turn away so his brother can't see the smirk he's trying to fight back and Merle is staring at Beth with his mouth gaping open like a fish. Daryl looks to Beth. He wonders how much time he'll need before he falls in love with her.

…

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 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to review!  
**


	22. Fresh Daily Batch of Drama

**You guys are all so amazing. I don't even know what to really say anymore besides that. Some have been asking and in this chapter, I have finally revealed the name of their little town. I probably love writing stories for the town as much as I love writing Beth and Daryl's love story slowly unfolding.**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Twenty-Two.** Fresh Daily Batch of Drama.

 _The mums are in bloom_.

If anyone else sees this text message, they'll have absolutely no idea what it means. They'll think that the mums are simply in bloom – even though it's too early for the fall flower to be so. But Beth sees the text message from Rosita and immediately knows the meaning behind it. It was something they had created together in high school; their own secret language. They both had slightly protective parents and liked to know everything that was happening in their children's lives – and cell phones were checked often, especially when "sexting" became a thing and neither the Greene nor Espinosa parents were going to let their daughters engage in such a thing. And though Rosita and Beth didn't do that, there _were_ things that they needed to talk about that they didn't want their parents to know.

The mums are in bloom has only ever meant one thing.

At noon, Beth closes the practice, putting a sign on the front door that she is gone for lunch but will be back within the hour (she hopes), and then hops into her truck to drive to the diner where Rosita is already sitting in a booth in the back corner, shredding a napkin to tiny confetti pieces.

"What's wrong?" Beth asks the instant she sees her best friend and slides in across from her, never taking her eyes from her.

The mums are in bloom means that one of the girls needs to talk about something – immediately. And it's never a text to be taken lightly.

The first time they created the code and Rosita sent it to Beth, they were in high school and Rosita was late and freaking out with the possibility of being pregnant with Spencer's baby. Beth and her had driven four towns over to buy a pregnancy test, but Beth had stayed in the car because everyone in the county knew Hershel Greene and she couldn't be seen buying something like that. They then went to some run down gas station on some back road for Rosita to go to the bathroom. Of course, it turned out to be a false alarm.

When Beth used the code for the first time, she had lost her virginity to Zach the night before and she was so sore the next morning, she was convinced something was seriously wrong with her. Her parents were out of town for one of her daddy's college class reunions and Rosita had rushed over, fixing her soup and tea and assuring her that she wasn't dying.

"I think Spencer is cheating on me," Rosita says bluntly.

For a moment, Beth is stunned; not having expected Rosita to say that. At all. Especially considering Spencer plans on finally proposing to her soon. He's already showed Beth the ring; wanting to make sure that he had bought just the right one.

"Hi girls," Paulie comes up to their table. "What can I get you?"

Beth is still staring at Rosita and Rosita has taken a fresh napkin to start shredding.

"Um," Beth finally looks up to Daryl's mom. "Can we just have another moment, Paulie?"

Paulie is no fool and she is able to spot a girl's talk when one's happening in front of her. She slips her ordering pad back into the front of her apron. "You girls take your time. I'll bring you some Cokes," she offers and then leaves.

"Rosita," Beth leans in. "What the hell are you talking about?"

She expects Rosita to hesitate, but instead, Rosita dives right into it.

"I was home yesterday on my day off and I always do laundry on my day off," Rosita says and Beth listens to every word she is saying to try and figure out why Rosita is thinking this about Spencer; especially since Rosita actually usually doesn't act irrational. "And I was putting away his socks and boxers, like the _awesome_ girlfriend, I am. He had come home for lunch and I didn't know it and I opened his top dresser drawer and he walked in on me and he started yelling his head off."

Beth is going to go out on a limb and say that that's where Spencer has hidden the ring. He really should have hid it in his desk at work.

"I think he has pictures in there he doesn't want me to see," Rosita says and then sighs heavily. "I should have seen this coming."

"Why?" Beth's eyes widen a bit with confusion. Rosita and Spencer have been together for ten years now. Most people in town think the two are already married. Beth honestly thinks they're the most stable couple; right behind how her daddy and mom used to be.

"You know why," Rosita says, but proceeds to tell her anyway. "We've been together since _high school_. We were each other's firsts and the only people we have ever been with. He's probably bored out of his mind with me. And you know the Town Hall gets all of those college interns to help out during the summer months. Spencer has probably screwed at least half of them already."

"You don't really believe that," Beth frowns at her.

Rosita just shrugs and continues to shred.

"Here you go, girls," Paulie returns and sets two glasses of Coke down in front of them. "Do you know what you want or do you need more time?"

"What'd you bake today, Paulie?" Rosita asks.

"Today, it's red velvet," Paulie answers.

"Two slices of that, please." Rosita then looks to Beth. "Do you want anything?"

The diner has three soups. Chicken Noodle, Vegetable and their soup of the day, which, every day, is cream of celery. And then during the winter months, Dale will make chili. And Beth knows it nearly ninety degrees outside with nearly one-hundred percent humidity outside, but sometimes, a person just gets unexplainable cravings for something. Sometimes, Maggie would get the strongest craving for Taco Bell and drive to the closest one – nearly twenty miles away, but she had never cared.

"A cup of vegetable soup and a slice of red velvet," Beth orders, giving Paulie a small smile.

She admits, ever since Paulie's talking to in the greenhouse, she's been a bit more shy around the woman. She knows Paulie likes her, but Paulie basically admits that she almost expects her to break Daryl's heart like Amy had. She must think that if she even thought she had to give Beth a talking-to like that. Never mind that Daryl had already come so close to breaking her heart before he was able to fix it. And who would care if he did? He has a mom and a brother and Beth's family no longer lives around here to threaten Daryl. All she has is Rosita and Spencer and though she knows they would do anything for her, she also knows that they – especially Spencer – really likes Daryl and she wouldn't expect them to take sides if anything bad _did_ happen between Daryl and herself.

"Have you tried to talk with Spencer about it?" Beth asks, dunking her straw into the Coke.

"Hell. No." Rosita frowns. "He's the one who has to talk and explain himself. Not me." Rosita takes a sip from her own Coke. "How are things with you and Daryl?" She then asks, clearly done talking about her and Spencer for the time being.

And Beth feels like such an idiot but just hearing that question, she can't stop herself from smiling a little. "Good," she then answers, keeping it as simple as possible.

And it is. Right now, it's really good. After the fiasco that was their first time and after, things are back on track. She hasn't said those three words since and she has no plan on ever saying them again; at least not first. Daryl will have to say it to her first if he wants to hear her say it to him again.

She really doesn't expect him to tell her though. She knows he likes her so much and he cares deeply for her, but as for being in love with her, she just has no idea if it will ever happen. He put himself out there once before and got completely burned. He probably isn't looking to put himself out there again – no matter how much time passes.

And for the time being, Beth is alright with that because Daryl is a wonderful person and absolutely wonderful to her and they don't have to rush into anything. She had been the one to put love onto the table too quickly but just as quickly, she hid it away again and for the moment, they're just enjoying one another. Beth knows that if a certain amount of time passes and he _still_ doesn't seem to have deep feelings for her…

Well, they'll cross that bridge when they get to it.

"No, Beth. Please, stop. Information overload," Rosita frowns.

"Here we are," Paulie says, setting three plates of cake down and the cup of soup in front of Beth. She also sets down a little plate with a warm roll on it near Beth's hand. "You need anything else?"

Rosita has already dived into one of her pieces of cake.

"I think we're all set, Paulie. Thanks," Beth gives her another smile. "It's not like you to just jump to conclusions like this," she points out to Rosita.

"Well, it's not like Spencer to just jump into bed with girls who aren't me," Rosita retorts and Beth doesn't try to hide her eye roll from her.

After they eat and pay the bill, and Beth has gotten Rosita to promise to at least talk with Spencer, and Rosita gets one more slice of red velvet cake to go, the girls walk from the diner out onto the sidewalk. Without a word, Rosita throws her arms around Beth's shoulders and hugs her tightly, almost squeezing the breath from her.

"I don't know what I would do with you," Rosita says to her. "I'm so glad you moved back."

"Me, too," Beth says as she hugs her tightly in return.

They pull apart upon hearing a familiar bark and sure enough, turning their heads, looking to the Commons across the street, there is Louis, barking and wagging his tail at the sight of Beth so near. As they have been doing all week, Daryl and T-Dog are working on the gazebo and Louis has trotted to the edge of the tape-offed job site and is beckoning Beth over.

"Come on," Rosita grabs Beth's hand and after quickly checking on cars coming, she proceeds to pull Beth across the street.

"Hey," Daryl sees them coming and lifts his protective goggles onto the top of his head. He's been cutting wood all morning and there's fresh planks and sawdust everywhere.

"Hi," Beth smiles in return.

"Did you ever hide anything in your top dresser drawer?" Rosita asks Daryl without any form of greeting. "Like with your underwear, what did you hide?"

Daryl shrugs, giving her a furrowed brow. "Don't keep my boxers in the top drawer."

Rosita sighs heavily. "T-Dog!" And with that, she steps beneath the yellow tape and marches over to T-Dog, who's taking measurements with his corner cutter ruler.

Daryl gives Beth a little smile as he lifts the tape and she gives him a smile, slipping underneath it, coming to stand in front of him. Louis is immediately there, begging for attention, and Beth laughs, bestowing upon him as much as she can. When she lifts her eyes, she finds that Daryl is watching her, his lips doing that little twitch that they do.

"How's it going?" She asks, looking away, feeling her cheeks flush. Sometimes, Daryl looks at her so intently, she's not too sure what to do because no one has ever looked at her as if they're studying her and trying to memorize her. "It looks amazing," she then says because it really does.

The old Gazebo had clearly been showing its age, smelling like rotten wood and mold, and most people thought that the town should just condemn the thing before someone got tetanus on one of the rusted nails that stuck out from the wood. It's never been understood why the Gazebo fell into such disrepair. This current mayor blamed the last mayor who probably blamed the mayor who came before him.

Their little town had been founded and settled just before the Civil War broke out and almost every man who was able to fight left to go do just that. Just a handful returned and the gazebo was built for the town's first Fourth of July celebration with the war now done. So much of the South was devastated and it would take the area so long to recover from the war, but the first mayor of the town had stood on these steps of the gazebo and told the townspeople that now would be the time to show people just what the South was really made of.

This gazebo stands for such pride and hope in their town and Daryl being able to return it to its former glory, everyone is eager to see the final product. There is already a town-wide party being planned in celebration when Daryl and T-Dog pound in that last nail and paint that last stroke.

"I don't know 'bout that," Daryl comments, coming to stand next to her, so close, she feels her shoulder brush against his chest. "But it's comin' along. We finally finished pullin' off all the old rotten wood and we've been workin' on the bugs and mold. Some bees weren't too happy with us and I had to go send T away while I dealt with 'em. He's allergic and I can't be havin' my one other guy droppin' dead on me. Too much to do."

Beth smiles at that and she looks at the bare skeleton structure of what stands before her.

"I was able to save one thing from the original though," he says. "Can I show you?"

"Please," Beth nods and beams up at him and her cheeks feel warm again as Daryl gently takes hold of her hand and leads her towards the steps.

"Careful. T and me haven' swept all the nails 'way yet," Daryl says as he guides her up the creaking wooden steps. "And careful of that," he says as he gently pulls her away from a large hole in the floor as if she isn't able to see it for herself. "Look what we found," he leads her to the center of the gazebo and looks up.

Beth follows his eyes and she smiles when she sees them. Wooden carvings of dogwood trees – their town's namesake, Dogwood – on the ceiling. "I've never seen those before," she says, still gazing upwards. She wishes she could touch them, to feel the grooves of the pattern. "I thought the whole roof was rotted," she then says, moving her eyes back to Daryl, who, no surprise to Beth, is already looking at her.

"The roof's plywood was," he nods. "But when they built this, they had doubled up on their wood, so these planks had twice the protection. Pretty much the only wood from the roof that ain't rotten. 's a miracle."

Beth smiles at that and looks back up the carvings. "I'm so glad you were able to save them. They're beautiful."

"Dirt and cobwebs 'ave been coverin' 'em up for years," Daryl comments. "I got another meetin' with the plannin' committee this week to ask 'em if I can carve more 'round here."

"You can carve, too?" Beth looks at him and she's not sure why she feels so surprised. If anyone in this town can carve intricate designs into wood, it'd be the man standing in front of her. "How did you learn?" She then asks with growing curiosity. She can't imagine someone just picking up that skill without at least being shown at least once how it's done.

Daryl just shrugs though. "Jus' somethin' I learned along the way."

Beth knows there's probably more to the story, but she doesn't ask about it further. For now. "I can't imagine the planning committee telling you that you can't. You know how serious this place takes its town pride." His lips twitch at that and she smiles at him. "I need to head back. I put a sign on the door that I'd only be gone for an hour."

"A'right," Daryl says and he's still holding her hand and she notices that when he does let go, he does so slowly; as if maybe he doesn't want to let go of it at all.

The thought makes her feel warm inside.

"I'll see you at home later," she says and he gives his head nod.

Beth stands on her toes and gives him – what she intends – to be a quick kiss, but surprisingly, Daryl seems to have another thought on the matter and when she begins to pull her lips away, he chases after them with his own and kisses her again, his hand gently cupping the back of her head, keeping her right where she is.

Like she really wants to be anywhere else.

…

The Beach Boys have always made her happy and on the way home, Beth sings along to _"Wouldn't It Be Nice"_ as it plays on the radio, smiling; almost laughing.

 _"Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up,  
In the morning when the day is new.  
And after having spent the day together,  
Hold each other close the whole night through."_

The next verse dies in her throat however when she nears the house and she sees someone sitting on the front porch waiting for her. And it's not just someone. Her familiar straight blonde hair and pink scrubs from the dentist's office gives her identity away. Amy.

Beth's stomach clenches into a knot as she pulls her truck around the back of the house and enters in through the kitchen. She has no idea why Amy is here, but all she knows is the warmth in her chest and stomach and the tingle of her lips from Daryl's kisses all disappear as she walks to the front door, seeing Amy through the glass, waiting for her. Is Amy here to tell her to back off from Daryl? But what right in the world does Amy have to do that? She cheated on Daryl and slept with someone behind Daryl's back while still being with Daryl. She lost all rights to be protective and possessive over Daryl long ago.

But Beth still can't help but be nervous as she unlocks the front door. For the first time, she notices that Amy is holding a gray kitten in her arms.

Oh. Beth honestly hadn't thought that Amy would need to see her as a vet.

"Come this way," Beth says, ushering Amy into the exam room. She leaves the door open. Not that she thinks Amy will try to hurt her or anything, but Beth's not going to risk it.

Amy sits the kitten down gingerly on the steel table.

"And what's this little fellow's name?" Beth asks as she smiles down at the kitten, her hands naturally beginning their exam. Checking the ears and teeth, the paws and pads, and running her hands down its tiny, fragile body, searching for abnormalities.

"Gizmo," Amy answers. "Randall got him for me. Found him somewhere. I don't really know where. There are stray cats everywhere though."

"Very true."

Beth listens to little Gizmo's heart for a moment, trying not to think of how Daryl had given puppy Louis to Amy as a present and Amy hadn't wanted to keep him when they ended. She wonders if Gizmo will be going with Randall if he and Amy are ever to break up.

"So has Daryl given you anything yet?" Amy asks.

Beth stills and slowly lifts her eyes to look at Amy. Amy is standing on the other side of the table, watching her, waiting for her answer and Beth wonders if her discomfort is obvious, but it must be because Amy truly looks amused right now.

"I don't see how that's any of your business," Beth answers and is proud of herself for doing so. "Do you want to hear about Gizmo or not?" She then asks.

Amy smirks a little. "We were dating for just a month when Daryl gave me this locket necklace for no reason whatsoever. It was very sweet."

Beth tries to keep her face blank as possible. No, Daryl hasn't bought her presents, but she isn't expecting him to. He had his reasons for buying Amy gifts and he has his reason for not buying Beth anything. She doesn't _need_ anything. Maybe Daryl knows that.

"He was always so sweet to me. I've never had a guy treat me like Daryl did. Like I was the center of his universe. I did love him back then," Amy then says, staring at Beth point blank.

"Yes, that was obvious," Beth comments and she wonders if her sarcasm is evident, but she knows it is when Amy frowns at her. Not letting Amy say anything else, she turns and goes to one of the cabinets along the wall, taking out a box of drops. "Gizmo has fleas. You need to give him a drop of this every morning right here, between his shoulder blades. Make sure you get his skin and not just his fur."

"I'll tell Randall," Amy says, taking the box with a slight wrinkled nose of disgust.

Beth then goes to her computer to start typing up an invoice to give to her and does her best to ignore Amy. She doesn't know the young woman at all. All she knows is what she has learned about her from others and Beth feels that her poor opinion is completely justified. How can she even be expected to be polite to her boyfriend's ex-girlfriend who cheated on him and broke his heart. Beth supposes she could thank Amy for doing what she did though. If she hadn't, she and Daryl would probably be married by now and Beth would have probably never exchanged a single word with Daryl Dixon.

Without a word, Beth prints the invoice out and gives it to Amy, who in turn, takes out her credit card and Beth swipes it through the reader on her desk. Amy then signs the receipt.

"Bring him back next week and I'll see how he's doing," Beth tells her, smiling down at Gizmo, focusing on the adorable kitten rather than the other woman.

"So, Daryl really hasn't bought you anything?" Amy asks, lifting the kitten into her arms again, prepared to leave.

Beth doesn't answer her.

"Huh," Amy says and then with that, she leaves the room. A moment later, Beth hears the slap of the front screen door behind her as she leaves the house.

Beth refuses to have any sort of reaction to this. _Huh_. Like it's some great big mystery. So Daryl hasn't bought her any gifts. So what? He has done so much more for her already.

It can't possibly mean anything bad.

And Beth's not going to let it dwell on her mind like it is.

She already has a locket upstairs in her jewelry box anyway.

…

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 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to leave a review!**


	23. When I'm With You

…

 **Chapter Twenty-Three.** When I'm With You.

He takes a minute to catch his breath, his face pressed to the side of her neck, drowning himself in her scent. How can she still smell so good? Daryl's pretty sure he smells like a locker room right now. He presses his face harder into her skin, trying to figure out the answer, pretty sure he's getting high from the faint scent of cherries. Beth giggles softly then, his facial hair scratching and tickling her. He finally lifts his head to look down at her. She's still flushed and she looks tired, but happy. And it's not really Daryl to pat himself on the back after sex, but looking down at Beth, and the fact that she still seems out of breath, he admits that he feels a little proud of himself.

"Better this time?" He asks and she smiles, almost giggling, nodding her head.

"Much better," she says and he smiles a little, too.

He dips his head down and presses a warm kiss to the side of her throat and a pleasurable moan rises softly past her lips. He looks at her again and it's amazing to him just how pretty this girl is. She's beautiful. And she's smart as hell and good. Way too good for him. She doesn't have to do anything for Daryl to see that. He still can't really believe that he's in a bed with her and knows what it feels like to be inside of her and that she _wants_ to be there with him. A girl like Beth can get any guy she wants. So why the hell does she want him?

"Wan' somethin' to eat?" He asks. "I usually eat somethin' after…"

Despite what they had just done, he still feels the tips of his ears turn red, and Beth notices and she smiles up at him warmly.

"I bet you want a smoke, too?" She says, only half-teasing.

He smirks. "Yeah."

"Come on."

She pushes on his chest gently and he moves off of her, watching her as she stands up from the bed, taking the bed sheet with her and wrapping it around her nude body. Daryl follows, picking up his boxers and tee-shirt from the floor and tugging them back on. He reaches into his bedroom as he passes, grabbing his pack of cigarettes and lighter from the dresser before heading down the stairs after Beth. Louis is lying on the floor of the kitchen and he instantly gets to his feet when Beth, and then Daryl, come into the room.

"What do you have a taste for?" Beth asks, going to the refrigerator.

Daryl has popped an unlit cigarette into his mouth and he looks to Beth, stopping for a moment at the scene in front of him. Beth, wrapped in a bed sheet and her hair thrown up into a sloppy knot on her head, is bathed in the warm yellow light from inside the refrigerator and she's looking over the things kept on the shelf. How the hell did he get here? How did he come to live here, in this house, with the prettiest girl in the world, who just happens to be his girlfriend and who loves him? Who the hell is he to have anything as good as it is right now?

And then, of course, he begins to wonder how long this will last, because, in Daryl's mind, good things don't last. They just don't last. The world is always playing jokes, giving the person something amazing only to rip it away a short time later, all the while joking and teasing. "Gotcha, didn't I?" So how long does he have before Beth is pulled away from him?

"We have leftover pizza," Beth then remembers.

Daryl snaps himself out of it. "Yeah," he agrees. "That sounds good. I'm gonna take Louis out real quick and smoke."

"You want a beer?" She asks as he heads for the door, Louis trotting after him.

"Tryin' to get me drunk?"

"Yep," Beth smiles back instantly. "I want another round."

Daryl finds himself smirking at that. "'m not a machine, woman," he mutters, but he doesn't mean it and he has no problem going again with her in bed and Beth knows it, too.

Her soft laughter follows him outside as he steps into the heavy, humid night. The crickets are still chirping at full volume and Daryl lights the cigarette as Louis goes trotting off towards a tree, his snout glued to the ground as he walks. Daryl tilts his head upwards and looks at how black the sky was and how many stars he can see. He loves it out here. He loves that nothing is blocking his view of seeing this; loves that no one else is around for miles. He can't imagine ever getting tired of this.

He's always had this dream for himself and just building himself a place in the woods and living there, really only coming out when he had to make money before returning to his self-imposed solitude. He's always preferred the company of himself to anyone else.

And he managed it for a few years. After graduating from high school, he moved from his mom's house and rented a single room cabin from an old man who used to use it for hunting, but didn't anymore. The place was falling apart and he gave Daryl permission to fix it up and he lived there for a couple of years and was as happy as could be. Just no one except him and the woods and the animals.

But then Merle came back from having been away and Daryl came out of the woods to be with him. He had always felt this attachment to his older brother. Maybe it was because Merle hadn't been around that much when Daryl had been growing up. With ten years between them, some of Daryl's childhood had been shit before Will Dixon split but Merle's _entire_ childhood had been shit and something that Merle never talks about. Daryl can just imagine though. He has his own scars on his back and Will Dixon wasn't around for nearly as many years. Maybe Daryl felt then – and still feels – that he's trying to save his brother from all of those things that happened to him years ago.

Whenever Merle came back to Dogwood after being away, Daryl always went to him. He loved his place in the woods, but he loved – and still does – his brother more and though no one ever told him to, Daryl has always taken it upon himself to look out for him.

And then came Amy and then living with his mom for a few months and now, he's here. On this farm with Beth. He thinks that maybe he hasn't been this happy and content since he was living away by himself in the woods.

Daryl finishes his cigarette and Louis comes trotting back to him after finishing his business and they head inside again. Locking the door behind him, he sees that Beth's not in the kitchen anymore and he heads back up the stairs. Beth is back in bed, a can of beer on the nightstand, coaster underneath it, and there is a plate of pizza in her hands and a _Bob's Burgers_ rerun on the television. She looks up when he appears in the doorway and she bursts into a smile as if she's so happy that he came back; as if there was a doubt.

His own lips twitch to her and he then comes to the bed, slipping beneath the sheet, and sitting up beside her. He takes the beer can and pops the tab. He takes the first sip and then passes the beer to Beth as she passes him one of the square slices of pizza. And together, they both laugh at the same joke told on the television. Well, Beth laughs and Daryl chuckles and Beth snuggles down, putting herself closer to him as she sips at the beer.

Daryl thinks about it for a second. Actually, he thinks this is the happiest he's ever been.

And for a second, he thinks he might be in love with her, but he stops himself before he can continue that thought. His relationship with Amy just ended a handful of months ago. It's too soon for something like that.

…

"Well, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Paulie teases as Daryl lets himself in the house with Louis on his heels.

"Wha'?" He shrugs. "I can't come and visit my ma whenever I wan'?" Paulie just gives him a look and knowing smile. "Beth's sister called and I like to give her privacy for that."

"You're so sweet," Paulie smiles and Daryl's ears turn red. "You eat anythin' yet for supper?" She asks, but without waiting for an answer, Paulie turns and heads into the kitchen. "I've made myself some stuffed peppers. Got two left. You wan'?" She asks, but again, Daryl doesn't need to answer before Paulie pulls out a plate from the cabinet and then the leftovers from the refrigerator, popping them into the microwave. "I wen' to go visit your brother after work tonight. He was eatin' an honest-to-God banana when he opened the door. And I saw all the food in his fridge and the vitamins on the counter. Told me the Doc's makin' him do it."

Daryl shrugs, not too sure what to say. He's surprised Merle admitted to anything.

"Bless that girl," Paulie murmurs and then turns when the microwave beeps. She takes the two stuffed peppers out and places them on the plate, handing it along with a fork to Daryl. He sits down at the table and a moment later, she sets a glass of water down as well.

"Thanks," Daryl says before he starts to dig in.

Paulie sits down across from him. "Will you tell Beth to come and see me?" She then asks.

Daryl lifts his eyes, his brow furrowed. "Wha' do you mean?"

"It's my fault," Paulie sighs. "I gave her a talk-"

"Wha' kind of talk?" Daryl can't help but jump in.

"A don't hurt my son or I'll hurt you talk," Paulie informs him bluntly.

Daryl sighs heavily and puts his fork down. "You didn' need to do that. Not to Beth."

"I know."

Paulie visibly swallows and Daryl feels bad because she looks so sad, but he doesn't know what he can do because he understands why Paulie did what she did. He's her son and Paulie doesn't want him to go through again what Amy had just put him through. But to Beth? If anyone needs the talk about not hurting the other people, it should be him.

"She's still polite to me, but I can tell she's keepin' herself away, and I don't blame her," Paulie sighs again. "Could you tell her that I wanna talk?"

"I don't know, ma," Daryl admits, nearly rubbing his hand down his face. This is definitely a position he's never found himself in before. His mom actually likes his girlfriend. "I guess I could, but…"

"No, no, you're right. I shouldn't put you in the middle and I can't expect you to take care of this. Beth will agree only 'cause you're askin' and I don't want her to do it 'cause of you."

Daryl picks up his fork again, but he doesn't take another bite of the food in front of him. He stares down at the peppers. "'m happy, ma," he says, but doesn't look at her as he says it.

Paulie doesn't need him to look at her though to know that he's telling the truth. She actually has never seen him like this. It's not as if he is bursting into constant smiles and songs, but when Daryl is happy, it's obvious in his entire being. He's more relaxed. _Visibly_ relaxed. He's comfortable. As he works on the gazebo in the park, Paulie is able to sometimes watch him from the front window of the diner. She sees Beth coming to see him most days and Paulie can see the way he acts around her. He is so damn happy; happier than Paulie has ever seen him. Certainly happier than he ever looked when with Amy.

With Amy, it seemed like he was doing anything he could possibly do to keep her around. Daryl would never admit it, but he was like most people in this world. He just wanted to be loved by someone and he, in return, had so much love to give. And with Amy, he had just seemed to always be on the edge, bracing himself for the end of it all; as if he hadn't thought he had deserved her. When, in Paulie's mind, it had always been the other way around. Amy sure as hell hadn't deserved Daryl.

And it's her fault for looking at Beth and thinking she is anything like Amy. She's not. That's obvious to anyone with two eyes. But if it isn't, a person only has to look at Daryl and Beth to see the difference.

Daryl looks at Beth like she's hung the stars in the sky.

But the difference with Beth is, she looks at Daryl like he's hung the moon.

"I'll think of a way to talk with Beth myself. You jus' eat your peppers," Paulie says and leans over, patting Daryl on the hand.

Paulie can't help but wonder if Daryl will marry Beth. He was with Amy for two years before he decided that it was time to pop the question. Paulie remembers that he came over on a Thursday evening – without Amy as per usual – and over dinner, he told her in that gruff, blunt way of his that he was going to ask Amy to marry him.

And of course, when he told her, she had to bite her tongue because immediately, she wanted to tell him how big of a mistake she thought that was. But Merle was over there for dinner that night, too, and Merle had no hesitancies in asking his little brother as bluntly as Merle usually asked things what the hell Daryl was thinking. Thank goodness for Merle.

Daryl had gotten pissed off and had stormed out, but Merle's question must have stuck in his head because Daryl never did ask Amy to marry him. Paulie didn't know if Daryl was still planning on it, but it hadn't mattered in the end. Amy had seen to that.

She's not sure if what Amy did will ever make Daryl even _think_ about marriage again, but if he does think about it, Paulie hopes he thinks about it with Beth. She hopes her son is smart enough to see that Beth is the kind of woman a guy thinks about marrying and then does.

Paulie just hopes she's able to apologize to Beth and to get Beth to forgive her before that happens. She's always wanted a daughter.

Maybe she needs to give Daryl a talk about not screwing this one up.

…

Beth pants on top of him and his heart feels like it's trying to break through his ribcage.

"Wasn' expectin' that," he grunts and she laughs breathlessly in his ear.

"Sorry," she says and with her hands on his chest, she slowly begins to push herself off, but Daryl stops her before she can. His hands tighten their grip on her hips, keeping her straddling him. He likes the way she feels on top of him.

"Wasn' complain'," he says, looking up at her, watching the way she blushes at that. "Is everythin' okay?" He then asks because he knows Beth well enough by now to know that while amazing in bed, she's not the type to just climb on top of him and fuck him like there's a possibility of there being no tomorrow.

And he's right because Beth sighs softly and adjusts herself so she's lying down, her body stretched along his and her head on his shoulder. Daryl wraps one arm around her waist and his other hand brushes hair back from her face. He doesn't know what it is with this girl, but there's something about her and he knows she can take care of herself, but that doesn't stop him from _wanting_ to take care of her. And Beth doesn't seem to mind when he does. In fact, she seems to crave his affection and knowing that she actually wants it, Daryl finds himself willing to go out of his comfort zone more and more and give it to her.

He likes the way he feels when he's with her. Like he's someone who's good enough.

She exhales a soft sigh. "I had to put someone's dog to sleep today. I'm never good with that. I don't think I'll ever be."

"Hope you wouldn' be good with doin' somethin' like that," Daryl comments in a murmur, his fingers now slowly trailing up and down her back, following her spine.

"I told the girl that she didn't have to be there while I did it, but she said that she and the dog were best friends and her face should be the last thing he sees."

Her voice shakes a little and she exhales a shaky breath. Daryl knows she's trying to keep from crying, which he figures she's already done earlier in privacy, in her office. He doesn't say anything. He has no idea what to say in a situation like this. He just keeps his arms around her.

"The best thing Louis can do for us is pass away in his sleep, in bed with us, when he's very, _very_ old," Beth says.

And Daryl doesn't want to think about that. Louis is still very-much a puppy and he understands the girl who said her dog was her best friend because he's that way, too. Where he goes, Louis goes and he doesn't want to think about someday, that dog not being on his heels anymore.

But hearing Beth talk about the future like that – _for us_ and in bed _with us_ – and doing it so easily and with not much thinking on her part, it seems, it stirs something in the pit of Daryl's stomach.

Beth gasps with surprise when Daryl swiftly rolls her onto her back, putting himself on top of her, but her gasp melted into a soft moan as he began pressing his mouth to the side of her throat. Her hands slide up and down his back and he doesn't flinch as she touches the scars there. The first time she saw them, there was no judgment in her eyes; no pity. She didn't ask him about them and she hadn't touched them until she was certain he didn't mind. And Beth's fingers are as light and gentle as feathers. Surprisingly to him, he doesn't mind at all when she touches them. Actually, when he's with Beth, he almost forgets he has scars on his back at all.

But her moans of pleasure turns to one of frustration when her cell phone on the nightstand begins to ring.

She signs heavily. "It's Rosita," she tells him and he lifts his head. "I should get it. She might be calling me from the police station. She seemed pretty set on murdering Spencer."

Daryl smirks and eases off of her just enough for her to be able to grab the phone.

"Hi, Rosita," Beth answers, still sounding a little breathless.

"SPENCER PROPOSED!" Rosita screams so loud, Daryl can easily hear her from through the phone, and then she squeals and Beth laughs, sitting up, forcing Daryl to sit up, too. "We're going out for drinks to celebrate and you and Daryl have to come! Meet us at Joe's!"

She ends the call before Beth can say a word and smiling, she looks to Daryl.

"Do you mind if we go for a drink?" Beth asks him.

"Course I don't," he doesn't even hesitate. "'bout time Spencer got off his ass."

"I can't wait to hear how he did it," Beth says as she eagerly climbs from the bed and begins getting dressed. Daryl follows after a second later, picking up his own clothes. "I bet she was probably threatening to cut off a particular part of his anatomy with a knife."

"She do that a lot?" Daryl asks as they head down the stairs.

"More times than one should threaten their boyfriend with a knife," Beth quips back.

"This mean you're an advocate of threatin' boyfriends with knives?"

They head outside to the truck, Louis hopping up in the back bed. Beth looks at Daryl and with a playful smile, she just gives him a wink, and Daryl finds himself breaking into a smile in return, shaking his head as he climbs in behind the wheel.

He drives away from the farm and heads towards Joe's bar, liking the idea that Rosita called Beth and without even seeming to miss a beat, she invites Daryl along for drinks to celebrate. He likes that they seem to consider him as a friend; likes that they have brought him into their group without seeming to have much hesitancy at all in doing so. He knows they did it because of Beth, but they also seem to not mind having him around at all.

Beth is singing along to a song on the radio. A top 40 song he doesn't know, but he listens as Beth sings about hitting the dance floor on a Friday night, and again, he feels himself smiling a little bit again, watching her as she does a little dance in her seat. He seems to be smiling so damn much lately.

The smile fades however when he pulls up to Joe's and over her singing and the song on the radio, he can hear the music pounding out from the bar. He feels a sudden rush of cold wash over him as he remembers. Shit. It's Saturday night and at Joe's, that means one thing. Death by Destruction is playing. He's seconds away from seeing Amy and there's no way he'll be able to get out of going in there.

…

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 **Thank you very much for reading and please take a moment to leave me a comment!**


	24. Neat Little Bow

**A couple of things. 1). Louis is pronounced Lewis. 2). Thank you to those who gave constructive criticism. I have a particular writing style that I've developed over the past 20 years that is definitely "my" style, but I read your comments and have done my best to clean up certain aspects of my writing so I hope it's better and easier to read now.**

 **I know people will read this and expect more drama, but that's just not something I see in Daryl's character and something I won't give Amy the satisfaction of. Also, This is a Beth's POV chapter but also, Daryl and Spencer jump in. Also, the guest reviewer who said Amy only seems to really be mentioned in Beth's chapters, yes! I did do that on purpose and I love you for noticing!  
**

* * *

…

 **Chapter Twenty-Four.** Neat Little Bow.

"Is he going to stay out here?" Beth asks once they get out of the truck in Joe's parking lot and Louis remains in the bed, already laying down, his head on his front paws. Louis always comes into the bar with Daryl. Joe even gives the dog a dish of water when he's in there.

"Yeah. He hates that noise," Daryl answers, spinning his keys around his finger.

For the first time, Beth hears the music coming from the bar. It's Saturday. Randall's band, Death by Destruction, always plays on Saturdays at Joe's and she has completely forgotten. If she had remembered, there is no way she would have asked Daryl to come here with her tonight. Amy is inside and deep down, Beth knows she's afraid of Daryl and Amy being in close quarters with one another.

She knows it's bound to happen. Dogwood is so small and everyone knows everyone's business and it was only a matter of time until Daryl and Amy were in the same room with one another – especially with both being frequent patrons of Joe's. But even though she knew it would be happening eventually, Beth can't stop the knot nervously tightening in her stomach. She doesn't know what will happen when Daryl sees his ex-girlfriend because Beth still isn't entirely sure how Daryl feels. About her. About Amy. Now that they're in a relationship, does that mean that he's completely over his ex?

But Beth knows that asking Daryl right now, in the parking lot, what his feelings for her are isn't the most ideal time or location.

Daryl walks around the front of the truck and he reaches out, taking hold of Beth's hand, and she smiles to herself as he leads them across the lot to the bar's main door. And when he pulls it open and steps aside so she can enter first, the music from within slams into their chests like wrecking balls. She looks back at him and she must be making a face to show her distaste because his lips twitch upwards at her and he steps in after her.

Death by Destruction is not a good band, by any means, and most of Joe's customers know that the hour they are on stage, performing, they make themselves scarce. The music is too loud and the main singer's idea of singing is just screaming intelligible words into the microphone and every single song sounds identical. Joe usually spends the set behind the bar, frowning towards the stage, wondering why the hell he lets his son do this every Saturday. It does nothing except slow business on one of his busiest nights of the week.

But with the bar not crowded whatsoever, Beth is able to find Rosita and Spencer almost instantly. Rosita seems to see her at the same time and she flies up from the table instantly and rushes to her, slamming into her and rushing her arms around her tightly. Daryl is still holding Beth's hand, everything happening so fast, and for a moment, Beth is able to hug Rosita back with only one arm before Daryl releases her hand and she can use that one, too.

"I'm getting married!" Rosita exclaims, practically bouncing on her toes, and she then throws her arms around Daryl's shoulders in a hug, clearly taking him by surprise.

"Congratulations," Beth laughs and then looks to Spencer, who's approaching them with a smile. She stands on her toes and hugs him. "Did she threaten you?" She asks him in his ear.

"Disembowelment," Spencer answers with a smile, but Beth can tell he's completely serious. "And after that, she was _really_ going to start her torture. Thanks for not telling her."

"It was hard," Beth admits. "She was eating her weight in Red Velvet cake, thinking you were screwing interns at the Town Hall on the Xerox machine."

"I wasn't that bad," Rosita cuts in though both know she was and she then hugs Beth again as Spencer and Daryl shake hands, Daryl giving his congratulations and Spencer grinning. Rosita grabs hold of Beth's hands and begins pulling her towards the bar. "Drinks are on me and Spencer because we're celebrating because we're getting married!" She exclaims again and Beth laughs.

"Thought they were already married," a man sitting at the bar, drinking a bottle of beer, frowns to himself when he hears; the same thought many other people in town share.

Rosita shoots him a frown. "No, Len, we are not married."

Joe chuckles. "What'll you have, Beth?" He asks.

"Whiskey sour," she orders her usual with a smile and tries to ignore the blonde sitting at the end of the bar, facing the stage. She has felt Amy's eyes glancing over a couple of times in the short time they've been here, but Beth is doing her best to just ignore it. Daryl is here with her. Not Amy. And there's no reason that Beth should be worried about her. Besides, Amy's here, watching her boyfriend's band. She's not here just because Daryl is.

Daryl and Spencer come up behind them then and Daryl orders himself a bottle of beer.

"Was thinkin' Merle would be here," Daryl comments to no one in particular.

Joe answers, sliding Daryl a bottle. "He was, but Carol called, sayin' she was havin' car trouble so Merle volunteered to go pick her up."

Daryl lifts an eyebrow at that and Beth smiles.

"That was nice of him," she says.

"Yeah," Joe agrees. "I think he jus' wanted to get away from this," he says with a cock of his head towards the stage and Beth almost laughs, but takes a sip of her drink instead.

Rosita and Spencer get new drinks for themselves and the four then head towards their table. After much pestering and finagling from Carol, Joe agreed to get a popcorn machine for the bar– as long as Carol was the one to clean it, which she promised that she would, and Spencer stops there now to get themselves a basket of popcorn, setting it down in the middle of their table.

"How many more minutes?" Rosita asks Spencer.

He looks to his watch on his wrist. "About twenty more minutes."

"Twenty minutes too long," Rosita grumbles. "I don't know why Joe lets them play. Everyone knows they're awful. I'm pretty sure the guys in the band know it, too."

But even as she asks, she knows the answer – as does everyone in town. Joe and his wife had been married for years and had had such a hard time getting pregnant. When they finally did, they considered their son, Joe Jr. to be their miracle baby. Joe's wife passed away from breast cancer a few years after that, when JJ was just a little boy of five. Since then, everyone knows that Joe raised his son and spoiled him along the way. Whatever JJ looked at, if he claimed it as his own, then it was his. When he wanted to start a band, he did and when he asked his dad if they could play in his bar, Joe let them.

And everyone complains about it, but everyone gets why Joe does it; even if Joe, himself, sometimes wonders why he does.

"Beth," Rosita turns in her chair towards her. "You will be my Maid of Honor, won't you?"

Beth feels her eyes widen in surprise. "Me?" She asks, truly taken aback.

"Of course you," Rosita says. "You honestly don't think I will ask my sister, do you?"

Spencer looks to Daryl. "Rosita's older sister has tried to grab my crotch every time we go to her family's house for Christmas," he explains. "And, I mean, who can blame her? But it does start to get awkward after the second attempt."

Rosita frowns at him but Spencer just grins. Rosita then looks back to Beth.

"Will you be my Maid of Honor?" She asks.

"Of course!" Beth exclaims, not having to think it over for even a minute.

The two girls lean over in their chairs and hug one another tightly. When they pull back, Rosita is smiling despite the tears in her eyes.

"And I promise, I won't pick a dress for you that is absolutely awful," Rosita swears.

Beth laughs and then takes Rosita's left hand, getting her first look at the engagement ring. Spencer had shown it to her after he bought it, but this is the first time Beth has seen it out of the box and on the finger it is intended for.

They drink their drinks and eat popcorn as Rosita tells the story of how Spencer finally proposed earlier that evening – Spencer walking into the room to see Rosita packing a bag to go stay with her parents for a while and Spencer going to the dresser and practically throwing the ring box at her – "Ridiculously romantic," Rosita jokes – and they all do their best to block out the music.

Beth looks to Daryl as she sips her drink and her eyes can't help but glance over to the bar occasionally, looking at Amy sitting on her stool with a few of the other Death by Destruction groupies. She supposes every band has groupies. She knows she's not imagining it when Amy glances towards their table; glances towards _Daryl_. Daryl doesn't notice. He's listening to a story Spencer is telling and smirking as he sips his beer. Beth wonders if he does notice and is just ignoring it or if he really doesn't feel Amy's eyes.

She hates this. She knew it would be like this once she and Daryl got together. Even before that and she had a crush on him, she knew that it wouldn't be easy. Everyone knows that Daryl is the one who _didn't_ want his relationship with Amy to end. He was (is?) in love with her and Amy was the one to blindside him and end their relationship. If she hadn't, she and Daryl very well could be the ones celebrating their engagement right now.

She hates how insecure another girl can make her feel.

Beth knows she and Daryl have a good relationship. They have things in common and are at ease with one another. They are able to talk and share things and spend time with one another. The most drama that had happened between them had been resolved already and things have been good – better than good – since then. But in the back of her mind and in the pit of her stomach, Beth still sometimes can't help but wonder if she's just a rebound. If Amy was to come up to Daryl tonight and want to get back together, what would he do? It's terrifying to her that Beth doesn't have a confident answer.

"Thank you, Dogwood!" JJ shouts into the microphone and the groupies all clap and cheer as the band disperses and steps down from the stage.

Everyone's ears are immediately grateful.

"Thank God," Daryl mutters and Beth lets out a soft laugh. He gives her a smile and then tilts his head back, draining the rest of the beer from the bottle. "I'm gonna go check on Louis and see if he wants to come in."

"Alright," Beth nods and smiles up at him as he stands up.

He leans down and gives her a quick kiss on the head and it's so quick and almost natural, she wonders if he's even realized that he did it. But he's already turned and walking towards the door and Beth is left there with pink cheeks and a stupid smile on her face.

Spencer's phone rings and he steps away from the table to answer it.

"So, you two are next, right?" Rosita teases with a smile.

Beth manages an eye roll before she takes a sip of her drink. "It's just been a couple of months, Rosita," she reminds her. "And he and Amy just broke up a couple of months before that. No, we are definitely not next. I think it's safe to say that when it comes to getting married, Daryl and I are in last place."

"But let's say that Daryl _did_ ask you. Whether tonight or a week from now. You would say yes, wouldn't you?" Rosita asks.

Beth doesn't answer. She just takes another sip of her drink. Some questions are asked that really don't need to be answered at all.

Someone has turned on the jukebox once again and has chosen a George Harrison song to play. _Much_ better than Death by Destruction and Beth happily relaxes into her seat, sipping at her drink, listening to "My Sweet Lord" and listening to Rosita's ideas for wedding colors. But something from the corner of her eye catches her attention and her head whips towards the bar to get a better look.

Her stomach sinks.

Amy's no longer sitting at the bar and Daryl still hasn't come back from outside. Maybe she just went to the bathroom, Beth tries to tell herself. But even as she tries to get that thought to take root in her mind, Beth knows that it's not where Amy really is.

…

Spencer sighs heavily into his phone. "No, no. I'll come. Just give me a bit of time. I'm at the bar with Rosita and a couple friends."

He has stepped outside to take the phone call when he saw that it was his office calling. It's a muggy night and he can hear mosquitoes buzzing in his ears that he halfheartedly swipes away as he listens to another man from his office, Milton, tell him the latest that has happened. Someone has gone into the Commons and has spray-painted all over the Stonewall Jackson statue. This is a headache that Spencer doesn't want or need – especially tonight. He's going to have to go and see the damage and then meet with the Mayor and the rest of his staff and try and keep the Mayor from saying something too racist.

All he wanted to do tonight was celebrate his engagement with Rosita and get drunk with his friends. Whoever decided to deface a historical statue tonight of all nights is an asshole.

Hearing a murmur of voices, Spencer glances towards the sound before prepared to step back into the bar. But he stops when he sees who it is. Daryl at his truck. With Amy. What in the hell is he doing out here with her? He immediately thinks of Beth inside. If Daryl does anything to hurt her, Spencer doesn't care of his position in this town. He will kill him. She's not just Rosita's best friend, but his, too, and yes, he likes Daryl, but he loves Beth and there's a huge difference when someone is about to hurt her.

He slips back into the shadows, hanging up on Milton and watching the couple across the parking lot. He wants to tell the cicadas to shut the hell up because he's having a hard time hearing, but he strains his ears and they aren't talking quietly so he can hear well enough.

"I miss you," Amy says and her hand is resting on Daryl's arm.

Daryl smirks a little and shakes his head. "Miss me payin' your bills."

"No," Amy instantly refutes with a shake of her head. "I miss _you_ , Daryl. Randall is sweet to me, but… he doesn't treat me like you did and I miss how you treated me. Like I was the center of your world. I need that more than anything, Daryl."

Daryl doesn't say anything to that. He just stares at her.

"Don't you miss me? At all?" Amy asks, looking up at him, inching closer.

Louis has jumped down from the truck bed and is standing at Daryl's side, staring at Amy and if a dog is capable of scowling at a human being, Spencer's pretty sure that that's what Louis is doing towards Amy right now. Spencer frowns. Why the hell isn't Daryl answering her? Does he really miss her? He's got Beth and he misses _Amy_? What the hell is the matter with this guy? Spencer needs to punch him. And yes, he's fully aware that Daryl could kick his ass completely, but he doesn't care about that.

"Daryl?" Amy prompts again. "Do you miss me?"

Daryl stares right at Amy. "No." His answer is in his normal-volume voice, but Spencer swears it's as loud as a bomb exploding in the swamp. "I did miss you, but it took me a while that it wasn' you. It was jus' the idea of what I thought we had."

Amy is frowning and her arm moves from off his arm to cross both over her chest. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I wanted to be with you 'cause I thought you wanted to be with me. I wanted a life with you," Daryl says and Spencer tries to remember if he's ever heard the man say so many words at once. "I was ready to get married and finally have a family of my own."

Amy is quiet for a passing moment, staring at Daryl, and Spencer can see the tightness of her clenched jaw from even where he's standing.

"What? With Beth? You've only been with the Doc for a couple of months," Amy points out to him. "Couldn't you even find yourself a rebound who doesn't look anything like me?"

Daryl just smirks and shakes his head. "Beth's nothin' like you. She doesn' need me. She _wants_ me."

Amy clenches her jaw at that.

"Le's go, Louis," Daryl says and both man and dog turn, heading back towards the bar, not giving Amy another glance.

Right then, Spencer's cell phone begins to ring, the sound blaring across the parking lot, and Daryl stops in mid-step when he hears it. Spencer cringes and looks down to who is calling him. He's going to punch Milton when he gets to the office. He lifts his eyes and looks at Daryl, giving him a sheepish smile, as Daryl looks at him.

"Work," Spencer lamely explains, holding up his still-ringing phone.

"Town on fire?" Daryl asks and doesn't seem the least bit angry that Spencer was obviously eavesdropping on his and Amy's conversation.

Amy storms up then and walks right past them, going back into the bar. Spencer watches her, but Daryl ignores her completely. Spencer then looks back to Daryl.

"So that's that, huh?" He asks.

Daryl shrugs and drops his hand, rubbing it behind Louis' ear. "Been done for months now."

The phone is still ringing and with an aggravated sigh, Spencer answers. "I told you I was coming, Milton. Don't do anything until I get there. I mean it. Don't even go to the bathroom." He hangs up again and Daryl smirks. "And yes, the town is on fire. Someone defaced Stonewall."

Daryl let out a low whistle at that. "That's not good."

"You're telling me. Want to handle it for me?"

"I don't think you want me handlin' it. Dixons fought for the Confederacy," Daryl answers.

They go back into the bar, and when they do, Beth can't help but immediately sit up straight in her chair, looking straight at Daryl. Amy had come in seconds earlier, looking like if someone was to look into her eyes right then, she'd turn them into stone like Medusa. She doesn't know what happened out there, but she can't help but get her hopes up with how angry Amy looks and how relaxed and normal Daryl looks.

Daryl and Spencer head back towards the bar and then they return to the table. Louis trots right up to Beth with his tail wagging, looking for love and affection. Beth rubs his ears and kisses him on the head and his tail is wagging, rocking his entire body back and forth. Daryl sets a dish of water down on the floor for him and then sits down in his chair next to Beth with a fresh bottle of beer.

Beth looks at him. "Is everything alright?" She can't help but ask.

Daryl has just taken a swig of beer and he pauses to swallow and nods his head. "Yeah," he answers and then looking at her for a moment, he adds, "Never better." And then, underneath the table, he moves his leg so his knee is pressed firmly against hers.

The answer makes Beth smile and the knot in her stomach instantly disappears.

…

 _Knock! Knock! Knock!_

Louis is quick to scramble up from where he was sleeping on the floor underneath her desk in her office and he takes off running and barking. Beth, in the middle of paperwork, stands up to follow after him. She locks the front door at night, but people know that if they need her, they just need to knock.

Daryl's working late on the gazebo that night as he and T-Dog have done every night that week. They're nearly finished and the town is pushing for them to reach their end date sooner rather than later. Louis has been staying with Beth in the evenings instead of keeping the men company as he usually does. Beth knows that he wants Louis to stay with her so she's not by herself in the big farmhouse in the middle of nowhere at night and Beth hasn't said it to Daryl, but she thinks it's very sweet of him.

Louis is no longer barking as he stands at the door, looking through the glass pane, and whoever it is, he wags his tail eagerly. The front porch light is on and through the door pane, Beth can see that it's Paulie. She can't help but be surprised and she wonders why the woman is here. Beth hasn't really talked to her – not since Paulie gave her that talk in the greenhouse about hurting Daryl. To be honest, Beth hasn't really been comfortable around the woman since. She has always liked Paulie, but in that conversation, Paulie made sure that Beth was reminded that she's Daryl's girlfriend and nothing more than that.

Beth does her best to give the woman a small smile as she unlocks the door. "Hi, Paulie. Is everything alright?" Beth asks her.

"It is. I was just hopin' you wouldn' mind if I stop by and see you," Paulie says and Beth realizes that she's holding a cake carrier in her hands. "I made a coconut cake and I was hopin' you would wanna share it with me."

Beth hesitates for only a second before she opens the door wider, silently inviting Paulie inside. She can't possibly turn down Paulie's coconut cake. She leads Paulie into the kitchen with Louis on their heels and as Paulie sets the carrier down on the counter and as she takes out the two layer circular cake, Beth gets them plates and forks. She also brings a knife to where Paulie is, handing it to the older woman to cut slices.

"I have found that coconut cake is the best thing to have when tryin' to apologize to someone who you were terrible to," Paulie says as she cuts each of them a slick slab.

Beth stills and looks at the woman and Paulie is looking at her, watching her closely for a reaction to what has just been said. And honestly, Beth isn't sure what her reaction should be. She likes Paulie – so much – and if she and Daryl are going to continue seeing one another, having a good relationship with Paulie like they used to have is vital to Beth. And she hurt Beth deeply, but she's here now, with coconut cake and wanting to fix it. Maybe this is one of those situations where a reaction isn't necessary. Maybe it's just a given.

Beth doesn't say anything. She simply steps forward and slips her arms around Paulie's shoulders, hugging the woman tightly. And Paulie doesn't hesitate in hugging her back.

…

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 **Thank you very much for reading and it would mean so much if you took a second to review this chapter. It took me quite a while to write. And thank you to those who always do review and make me feel appreciated. You guys are the best! xoxo  
**

 **Next chapter will be the last one.**


	25. Whoosh

**I got a couple of reviews that I couldn't reply to privately. Yep, I write in a formula, but actually, I think this story is a little different as Beth and Daryl got together quite a bit before the end. I have found with my other stories that once they get together, interest drops off. But that's why I usually wind up writing little sequels stuffed to the gills with domestic fluff so I'm sure we will see something further from this story eventually.**

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…

 **Chapter Twenty-Five.** Whoosh.

It is a beautiful Labor Day weekend: sunny with clear blue skies and a slightly chilling breeze blowing through the air. A storm had swept across the area during the week and on its heels, a cold front had moved in, and after a sweltering summer, the people of Dogwood are reminded that fall is just around the corner.

The newly renovated gazebo is decorated for the ceremony. White streamers and pink carnations because those have always been her favorite flower and there are folding chairs set up, each one filled. Almost the entire town has shown up from the ceremony and the celebration that will immediately follow. The Commons is filled with carnival rides and food vendors – the town's annual Labor Day Festival set up and ready to go.

The preacher and groom stand on the steps of the gazebo, awaiting the bride, and everyone is smiling because the groom doesn't look nervous whatsoever. If anything, he looks eager to get this going so he can get married. And when Bob, a fiddle player in town, begins playing the first notes of the bridal march, everyone turns in their seats to look up the aisle as the bride appears and begins walking to the gazebo, her sons in suits on either of her sides.

Beth meets Daryl's eyes from her seat and they share a smile with one another. Beth then looks to Paulie. She had helped the woman shop for a dress to wear today. She had been unsure about wearing white, but Beth had convinced her that she should, telling her that this second marriage will be absolutely nothing like her first to Will Dixon and she should look like a bride on her wedding day. The saleswoman in the dress department in the department store in town had spent an afternoon with Beth and Paulie, and Rosita along to help and keep an eye out for something for herself, until they found Paulie the perfect dress; a dress that is perfect for a woman in her sixties who is getting married.

Daryl, Beth and Merle had all been over at Paulie's house for supper when she told them and they were all surprised and taken aback, but at the same time, after thinking it over, maybe it wasn't all that surprising. Paulie had been close to Dale and Irma for so many years, working at the diner and helping when Irma got sick and the couple had opened their home to Paulie Dixon and her two sons. When Irma passed away, people in town worried that Dale would soon follow after her from a broken heart.

But he and Paulie continued working together and spending time together and they have remained close all this time. And it is no secret that Dale has been harboring a crush on his waitress for some time now. It is a surprise to her sons however when they find out that their mom has had her own crush on her employer as well.

Dale had proposed and Paulie had said yes and she told her family the next night.

"Ain't you too old to be gettin' married?" Merle asked with a wrinkled brow and Paulie's first response to that was a sharp frown in his direction.

"If I'm some old fogy, Merle Dixon, then you ain't that far behind me," Paulie quipped back.

Daryl had just been confused. He talks to his mom every damn day, but he guesses he never talks to her about _her_ feelings in regards to things. He's going to change that.

The ceremony had been planned quickly and with the gazebo just finished, Daryl had asked Spencer if the wedding could take place there. Pulling a few strings and making a few promises to those who he needed to agree, Spencer got it approved.

And now, Dale stands on the step, watching Paulie walk up the aisle to him, beaming as excitedly as if he was a some kid, getting married for the first time. When they reach them, Merle and Daryl both hug Paulie tightly, Paulie whispering something to them both, and then they and Dale all shake hands. Glancing across the aisle from her, the Grimes sit and Beth can see that Lori is already crying, smiling as she dabs at her eyes.

Merle and Daryl both then turn to sit in their seats. Merle gives Beth a wink as he slips past her in the row to sit down in his empty seat between her and Carol Peletier, his date for the day. Sophia, Carol's daughter, sits on the other side of Carol. Daryl comes and sits down in his aisle seat next to Beth and Louis sits in front of them. For the occasion, Beth has bought him a bow tie and has tied it onto his collar. When Daryl sits down, he looks to Beth and she smiles at him again and he smiles a little, too, his hand sliding to rest on her thigh. And Beth slips her arm through his and watches the ceremony, feeling a little teary herself.

She had told herself this morning as she had been getting herself ready that she wasn't going to cry. She had even promised Daryl when he teased her about it. But watching Paulie and Dale slip rings onto one another's fingers and feeling Daryl's warm hand on her thigh, she feels moisture build in her eyes and she can't stop it. After all of these years, Beth feels like she's watching a woman and her family finally get a happy ending.

And she's a part of it.

"Dale, you may now kiss your bride," the preacher tells him with a smile and before Dale can even step forward, everyone is already clapping and cheering, and tears are streaming down Beth's cheeks now as she stands up along with everyone else, clapping her hands and smiling as Dale and Paulie share their first kiss as husband and wife.

"Knew you were gonna cry," Daryl teases her.

"Shut up," Beth does her best to frown at him and Daryl just keeps on smiling and sliding an arm around her shoulders, he tugs her in close to his side.

The celebration follows right after and to make sure that Dale and Paulie don't cook and bake for their own wedding, everyone has pitched in, bringing food and cakes they have prepared themselves. Jacqui's made her puff pastries and T-Dog has made ribs and brisket and Joe has donated bottles of beer and liquor from the bar. There is a picnic table spread out, covered with food, and Daryl knows that the four coconut cakes on there were baked by Beth just yesterday.

He goes through the line, loading up his plate with food, before heading back towards the gazebo. There are people everywhere, talking and eating and laughing and kids and dogs are laughing and barking, running around; the whir of carnival games in the background. He swears that every single person from Dogwood is in the Commons that afternoon.

A band that has been hired for the carnival has begun playing – an old Patsy Cline song – and Daryl watches as Dale and Paulie dance along with other couples: Rosita and Spencer, Rick and Lori. And Carol has even gotten Merle onto the floor to dance with her. Daryl smirks to himself because even though it's too noisy to, he can just imagine the things his older brother is saying in protest to it.

Daryl turns and heads back to the gazebo. Beth is the only one in it, sitting up on one of the railings, slightly swinging her legs back and forth, Louis sitting in front of her. This morning, when Daryl had been in the living room, he watched Beth come down the stairs in her pink dress and he swore that the girl had damn-near stole the breath from him. Daryl's not the sort to have these kinds of thoughts, let alone even say them out loud, but when he looks at Beth, he can't really believe that someone who's as beautiful as her is with him. She's a doctor, for fuck's sake. A doctor who went to medical school and is probably the smartest person he knows. And he's just a contractor with dirt under his nails and too-rough hands.

Sometimes, he wants to ask her what the hell she sees in him and why the hell she loves him, but Daryl knows he'll never ask her that. Her possible answer scares the shit out of him because any answer she gives him would probably do nothing except confuse him because there's no answer she can give him that will make sense to him.

Beth bursts into a smile when she sees him step into the gazebo and he smiles a bit in return. He hands her the plate to hold as he pulls himself up to sit beside her on the railing. He then takes the plate back.

"Brought ya' a pulled pork sandwich," he says and she smiles as if he's just offered her gold.

"I was just looking at all of these carvings," she says and looks back to the post beside her. In the wood, Daryl has carved an intricate swirling design with dogwood flowers.

That's the part of the entire construction that took him the longest time. Beth had been right. The planning committee, once he told them about the original dogwood carvings he found on the ceiling, had no problem with granting Daryl to carve more and he spent painstaking hours, carving into each and every new post.

"They're so beautiful, Daryl," she tells him, running her fingers along one, turning her head back towards him.

He feels the tips of his ears turn warm from the compliment. "'s nothin'," he does his best to shrug it off.

"You're wrong," Beth says in a quiet voice and Daryl looks into her eyes as she looks at him.

He's never had someone look at him like Beth does. He knows she loves him – _truly_ loves him – but this is always so much more than that. She looks at him like she'd have no idea what she would do without him; like he's honestly the best thing to ever happen to her.

Daryl hopes that when he looks at her, Beth can see all of the same things in his eyes.

He doesn't overthink what he does. He just leans into her and presses his forehead to hers and he makes sure that his eyes stay looking right into hers. He doesn't want to look anywhere else except into Beth's eyes.

He's almost surprised at how nervous he _doesn't_ feel right now.

"Whoosh."

Beth's eyes widen when she hears the word, but she doesn't ask how he knows about it, and he doesn't tell her that he was listening in on hers and his mom's girl night when they were discussing whooshes in the stomach. At the time, he hadn't known what they were talking about because he had never felt anything remotely close to a whoosh when around another person. He hadn't even felt one with Amy.

But he feels it in his stomach now and even though he's never felt one before, he doesn't wonder what it is. He knows exactly what it is and he doesn't see why he shouldn't tell Beth about it the second he feels it.

Beth stares at him, searching his eyes and his face to see if he's telling the truth. And when she does, she presses her forehead against his and she closes her eyes, exhaling a breath that sounds a little shaky; as if she's about to start crying. But she's smiling softly.

"Whoosh," she whispers back.

Daryl feels like he can breathe now that she has said it back and he moves his lips up, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

They sit there for a few long minutes, their food growing lukewarm as time ticks on, and the band is now playing a song he recognizes. _And It Stoned Me_ by Van Morrison. Since he's moved in, he's learned that Beth loves his music and listens to him often and in turn, Daryl is able to identify his songs now. He thinks of the night she sang _Moondance_ in Joe's and he smiles a little to himself now, his lips curving against her skin.

Daryl pulls his head back and looks to her face. "Wanna dance?" He asks.

"You don't dance," she says with a smile, a giggle bubbling in her throat.

"You're right 'bout that. But I'll dance with you." He pulls away and slips down from the railing. He turns back to her and holds out his hand to her.

It looks like she's going to start crying again, but she's still smiling as she places her hand in his and carefully slides down from the railing. His mom showed him how to dance years ago and he tries to remember everything from those lessons now as he slips his arm around Beth's waist, holding her body close to his, and Beth puts her arm around his shoulders. He holds onto her other hand and slowly, they begin to sway back and forth to the song, not moving that much, but enough for a person to know that if they looked to the gazebo right now and saw the two, they would know that they were dancing.

Beth closes her eyes and feels the lightness in her chest and the whoosh in her stomach and she thinks that this might be the most perfect moment in her entire life. And she knows, without having to ask, that Daryl feels the same.

Louis watches them for a moment and then, with neither of them looking or paying attention, the dog stands on his hind legs and looks at the plate of food that Daryl has set down on the railing.

He helps himself to the puff pastry.

…

 **The End.**

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 **As always, thank you to those who read and reviewed and for your constant support. And with that, I finish another Bethyl story.  
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